My little pony: Security Forces
by SyberByter
Summary: Misriah, a grunt in the Equestrian Defense Forces Royal Marine Corps, is sent to ponyville. While there, he meets the mane 6 and befriends them, but an unexpected insurgency starts a civil war, splitting the country. And worse, the Elements of Harmony may need to join in the conflict. He wants to protect his new found friends, but can the elements fight a war? Warfic. OCxApplejack.
1. Chapter 1: Intro

**Authors note: Hey y'all! For the first time. So, before you go headfirst into this story, let me clear some things up**

 **1) This is a war fic, meaning there will be war, and war related characters, war related violence, and such and such.**

 **2) The characters are anthro, because it makes it so much easier on me.**

 **3) "Princess Twilight" isn't a princess in this, nor an alicorn, as if she was, it'd kind of make the overall story a little more difficult.**

 **5) Alternate Universe, in the "modern" fashion, so expect more modern tech (but there's still magic), so tanks, guns, grenades, and so on.**

I walked down the dirt road, listening to nothing but the sound of my boots. Where I was walking? Who the hell cares, I didn't, at least, not at the time. It was the same old day. Walking down the same old dirt road, wearing the same old uniform, same old patches, and, as I looked to my right, same old battle tanks, parked on the side of the road. It wasn't long ago that Princess Celestia and Cadence had signed the Pony Peace and Protection treaty, which successfully united the two nations into the Equestrian Alliance, which basically meant that the Crystal Empire, and Equestria were just Equestria. Since there wasn't much of a difference than Nationality, the countries quickly adapted. The main impact was the merging of the two countries armed forces, now known as the Equestrian Defense Forces. Although on paper it was mostly referred to by politicians as "The Military for the Defense of Equestria". Either way, I was in the EDF's Royal Marine Corps. Simply put, I was a Jarhead Commando. What the hell…. I'm talking about myself, and you all don't even know my name. It's Misriah, just so you know.

The Royal Marine Corps is almost what you'd expect, quick-response rapid deployment from sea. However, we don't have any basic "Grunt". Infantry are all highly trained elite light infantry commandos, while vehicle wise we still have most of the heavy work gear as our Army cousins. And the thing is, I got one of the more interesting jobs. I am a General Duties Marine…. Alright, doesn't sound so great, but it really is! It's basically a rifleman, plus a whole other specializations, such as cleaning, and, other general duties….. Okay, not so cool, but it's still a rifleman position, meaning I get to shoot things, do PT, and all. But really, even with a job involving guns and blowing shit up, I still get bored. I attribute this to nothing has changed since the last 4 years I got here, it's been the same, old routine. Wake up, PT, chores, PT, walk home, wake up, PT, chores, PT, walk home, wake up, PT, chores, PT, walk home. It's the same damn thing. Over and over and over. However, that changed, on that day. Got home, checked my mail, and ya know what? It was late. "That never happens…" I said to myself. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. I opened it and saw who it was. I recognized the light green coat, and opened the door to find the mail-stallion.

"Damn, Corporal Grady, what took you so long?" I asked.

"Sorry, Misriah. I had just delivered the mail to the colonel, and he didn't like what he found, and you know what happens when that comes 'round" Said the Corporal.

"Either way, this is addressed to you." He continued as he handed me a couple letters.

I took the letters and examined them, mostly official stuff, some financial stuff, and, what's this? A transfer? The hell? To where? I quickly opened it and started reading. It had an official seal and everything, and to cut it short, I was going to be stationed at Watch Base Everfree. Sounds familiar? It's just the Marine garrison in ponyville, just over watching the Everfree forest, and doing regular patrols in there. Really just to keep tabs on it because at some point it was suspected to be suspicious, or dangerous, something like that. I don't know why we still have it, and why we haven't torn it down and relocated the assets elsewhere, like on the changeling border, to the north, or the Yakyakistan border, to the east. However, it's still there, like for the last decade or so. Really, a better question would be; why the hell are Royal Marines guarding the Everfree forest? Well, we aren't "guarding" it, more like, "monitoring", you're free to walk in and out as you wish. Next, to really answer the question; I believe it's because it's a "high threat area" or something like that, so we treat it almost like an embassy in which we have marines patrolling it. But yeah, that was the news. It was better than another day here, I guessed. However, it's not like I transfer that night, it was scheduled for the next month, so crap… Whatever, still better than staying here for another year.

I started packing that day. My rifle (an M16A4), my uniform, transfer papers, some bits, etc. When I was done, I took a shower, turned on my laptop and spoke to some friends, asked them if any of them had gone there, got some useful information, and such. Didn't sound too bad, or interesting either. Until one of my friends, also from the EDF RMC said "And the Elements of Harmony live over there, too." I nearly choked on my own spit. "Agh, Damn! Sorry, what the hell did you just say?"

"The elements of Harmony. Do you even read bro?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what they are. But I don't know who they are, not even their names." I replied.

"Well, actually, neither do I. I know they're there, but I never met them." He continued.

"Well, what the fuck dude! How the hell are you gonna tell me that they live there, but not who they are?" I groaned, annoyed.

"Holy shit dude, what the hell! Sorry man, I just know they live there!" He exclaimed.

"Damnit. Sorry, sorry. Well, alright." I calmed down.

Yeah, it annoyed me a little, and I'm not gonna ask any of locals, that'd make me sound like a tourist, which I ain't. Fuck my life. Well, whatever. So, a month later (actually, about 28 days later, but still no zombie apocalypse), I got on the plane, and took off to ponyville, with a couple other transfers. I took out my phone, plugged in some buds, and sat back as some cool music flowed into my mind. Alternative and classical rock, with some country here and there, and maybe a rap every once in awhile. I had let my hoof tap on the bottom of the plane, which I noticed was piloted by a Pegasus. It made sense, they usually get better piloting scores (born for flight, anyone?), however, there are still a fair amount of unicorn and earth pony pilots. It eventually got dark, and I started to lean farther and farther into my "seat" (it was made of steel, so I actually didn't get very far into it), and actually eventually managed to fall asleep. I woke up a couple hours later, mostly due to me smacking the back of my skull on a piece of metal. "Ouch. Dammit." I cursed to myself. I got up and went up the plane, to the cockpit. The pilot noticed me; "Damn. Sorry to wake ya, hit some turbulence." He explained.

"It's cool. How long?" I asked.

"About maybe 4 more hours. Plus 30 mikes top." He replied.

"Alright. Know of any good places to get some food down there? I'm getting kinda hungry." I continued, assuming he's flown this flight before.

"Actually, no. First time going to this place. I'm actually being stationed there for air patrol. I was just ordered to pick up some friends on the way." He answered.

"Ah, alright."

"So, what's your name, marine?"

"Private Misriah, sir."

"Cool. Nice to meet you. 2nd lieutenant Rolling Thunder"

"Good to meet you sir."

"Alright. We'll get some bites when we land. 'Till then, I must ask you to get back into your seat. Kinda against regulations. Like I get the whole 'what the hell, pilot?' thing, and I enjoy a chat, but, this is kinda my first time flying this thing, and I'd rather not have a casualty." Thunder explained.

"Aye, aye, sir."

I returned to my seat and sat back down on it. It was slightly comfortable when I first sat down, but since I got up, it was cold and harder than what it used to be (if metal can do such things). I noticed that my earbuds were no longer playing music. So, I just restarted the track, placed em in my ears, and continued on with my life. Well, that's just a statement, you don't have a life while on a plane. I eventually fell asleep again, as I was just bored.

When I came to, we were just getting off. We had touchdown nicely at the base's military airfield. I got off, and hunger instantly hit me. "Oh, fuck, shit, damn" I cursed, because it actually hurt how hungry I was. Either way, after he had safely parked, or whatever you do to a plane after you land it, the LT stepped out of the plane, and looked so damn tired, you could hit a representation of how tired he was from a mile away with a shotgun loaded with buckshot (Which shouldn't be impossible). He stretched and yawned as I walked over. "Hey, sir. Want to get some grub?" I asked. However, his baggy eyes just looked at me and he said;

"Not now, Misriah. Kinda just wanna hit the rack…"

Then it hit me; He was up the whole 12 hour flight, plus his normal 10 hours of work!

"Um, sir, did you stay up the entire flight?"

"Well, I was flying the thing,"

"No autopilot?"

"Not that I know of, although there….. Might be one…" He said, unsure.

I guided the sleepy officer through the process of finding his barracks. Wasn't hard, as officer and enlisted are always separated, it was merely a case of finding his number. I brought him at the door, and we said that we'd get lunch some other time. In the meantime, I was hungry as hell, so I checked in, and left. Work starts tomorrow, and it's fine to check out the town on the downtime, so I went out. Was still early morning, so a lot could be done. I dropped my uniform, gear, and boots all off at my racks, put on civilian wear, and walked out the front of the base. I had my ID, so I could get back in. And thought to myself; "Well, what to do now?"

I heard my stomach rumble for the 8th time in the past 12 seconds. "Damnit" I cursed to myself. Hunger... why body? Why must you need nutrition and sustenance? Well, all I wanted was something tasty, but healthy. However, I had no idea where to start. First time here, no real sense of direction, or where the hell everything is. Colorful houses, dirt roads… wait, what the hell?! Dirt roads? Fuck, good job Ponyville, you reminded me of my boring life just 2 days ago. Whatever, damnit. Until I could tell exactly where I was, I decided to ask "What do I want to eat?" Maybe a sandwich, or, a salad, or, damnit I don't even know what normal ponies eat! Maybe, a fruit? Or, cake? Cake? Hell no! Damnit, think healthier! I was already about to smack my head into a wall, angry at myself for being so damn indecisive. I decided to turn to the closest local, a violet coated mare. "Hey, any good eats around here?" I asked. She turned to face me, a little surprised, probably because she didn't expect to be talking to me.

"Uh… yeah. Just around the corner." She answered.

"Thanks. What's their menu?"

"Mostly sandwiches…"

"Alright. Thanks again."

I began to walk on my way, before I heard her voice again "Wait!" I turned around to see what the mare wanted.

"Yeah?"

"I was on my way there anyway, so, lunch?" She asked, a bit shyly.

I scratched my head, but eventually went with it.

"Alright, sure."

"Thanks. Follow me." She said, as she started to lead the way.

I started to formulate opinions on the purple mare. I had just met her, so I don't have much past the bare essentials. And by bare essentials, I mean nothing past her appearance, which wasn't bad, very attractive even. We eventually got to the restaurant.

"Table for two." Said the mare. A waitress was conveniently waiting for us, and escorted us to our seats. We both sat down and the waitress put down the menus, and we picked them up and started browsing. I didn't find anything out the ordinary, just different kind of sandwiches. I decided I'd get a crisp tofu sandwich. And waited for the waitress to come around take our orders. It then hit me; we haven't said much. I mean, I'm not one to start up conversation, as I don't have many original thoughts. Luckily, I didn't have to, she did it for me.

"Hi… Name's Twilight Sparkle."

"Misriah. Nice to meet you."

"So… new here?" She asked. It was a pretty obvious question, but enough to make conversation.

"Yeah. Actually just got here this morning."

"Oh. Business trip?"

"Of sorts."

"What do you do? For a living, I mean"

"General duties."

She seemed confused by that last statement, and I realized; civilian, not military. That's what happens when you live with military people for the past 4 years of your life. I mean, sure, there were civilians, but, it's not like I talked to them much.

"Basic infantry stuff." I explained.

"Infantry? You're in the military?" Asked Twilight.

"Yeah. Royal Marine Corps."

"And why are you here again?"

"I got stationed at Watch Base Everfree, which does exactly what the name suggests."

"Oh…. But the Everfree Forest has been here forever now, why does it still need to be watched?"

I believe I asked this question before, but whatever. I thought for a second, trying at least have a logical answer, so it at least might be the right one.

"What's the weather patterns here?"

"Our schedule is usually long durations of sunny days with occasional downpours of heavy rains." She answered. Seemed logical, to make up for extended periods of sunshine you need heavier rains.

"That might have a reason for it. Water based or intense environment training exercises may be a factor."

"Excuse me?"

"Marines. If there's a coastline, a lake, hell, a puddle, they can train there." I said, a little bit of sarcasm and humor.

"Ah. I get it." She answered.

The waiter eventually brought us our orders. I brought my plate closer to me to grab my sandwich. Taking a bite, it wasn't half bad. Pretty good, at least compared to base food. Twilight, being a unicorn, used her magic to hold her sandwich. I watched her horn as it glowed, and then looked at sandwich as it glowed with the same purple color. I always found unicorn magic to be fascinating, and I wish I could do "No hands" tricks. We continued to eat, unsure of what to talk about. I was almost done with my sandwich when Twilight continued to make small talk; "Got any plans for the day?" I finished off the last bite of my sandwich before responding.

"No, not really. I just wanted lunch."

"Then, can I show you around?"

"Sounds outstanding," I answered, and then a question came to my head; "What do you do?"

Twilight then thought out her answer, sighed. "I don't have much of an actual job. I mean, I do take care of the library… But, I also live in the library as well, so.."

"That is an actual job. Being a Librarian I mean." I commented, trying to be encouraging a bit. Although she didn't seem to get what I mean.

"There are Librarians in the military, and if the military has a job for it, it's got to be a legitimate occupation." I continued.

"Well, okay." Twilight responded. She finished her meal, and I asked for the bill. The bill was a bit more than what I expected, but not overly so. I placed a small bag of bits on the table, and the waitress took it. I gave a couple extra for the tip. Twilight and I both got up from our seats to leave the restaurant. As soon as we exited the building, we stood on the side of the sidewalk for a little. "Where to?" I asked. I didn't get much of a response, but we started walking down the road.

"Why are the roads still made of dirt?" I asked.

"I believe it's because the mayor doesn't think cement or asphalt ones are necessary." Twilight replied.

"Sounds like somepony I know."

Twilight looked at me curiously. I took this as if she wanted an explanation, and continued my sentence.

"The old base commander from before here. He also had our roads made of dirt. Wasn't bad for boots, a bit difficult for vehicles without treads. But murder on any and all dress uniforms." I explained

Twilight nodded in acceptance of the answer, and continued walking. We walked for about four more minutes, then she stopped. I stopped behind her, and she turned around. "What?"

She didn't say anything for about another minute. "You look like somepony I know too" Said Twilight.

I raised my right brow, "Sorry, but we haven't met before today, so…" However, I was quickly interrupted by the violet mare.

"No-no-no. You look similar to him. Your coat is red like his, but a bit of a darker shade. Same with your eyes. Green, just darker. However, similarities stop there… You are much smaller, and your mane is a totally different color." She explained.

I took in the information and analyzed it. "Is there a problem with a brown mane?" I asked, joking around. She didn't expect the question, and so took a little bit to answer;

"What? No! That's not what I meant!" She said. I gave a quick chuckle to show I was joking.

As we started walking again, Twilight had brought up another subject. "Have you met Pinkie Pie?" asked the purple mare.

I had no idea who she was talking about so I responded with "Who?"

Twilight had taken this for a "no" and continued "Alright then. If we keep walking we'll eventually find her, and she'll see you, and eventually will throw you a party, sometime in the afternoon probably." She explained.

I thought about it and responded; "A party?"

"Yeah. To be honest, since you are here under orders, you must have flown in with others?"

"Right."

"So she'll probably toss a party for all the incoming service ponies."

As she was saying that, we walked across a pink flyer, and, pink being the bright color it is, was very eye catching. I stopped to examine it; and sure enough, it was a "Welcome Party for Service Ponies", reading further, it stated that "Any and all may attend", and it was signed by a "Pinkie Pie". After reading through it, I pointed it out to Twilight. "Here, is this what you're talking about?" I asked. After she gazed through it, she nodded yes. I pointed at a spot on the flyer that told the location; "The town hall, huh? At 1905 to 2245" I read aloud.

Twilight looked at it and commented; "If everypony is welcome to attend she should really put it in civilian time so everypony can understand what time is at". Without speaking, I pointed to the civilian time written directly underneath the military time, and read aloud;

"That's 7:05 PM to 10:45 PM in case you don't know how to read military time". With that, Twilight gave a single blink, probably slightly embarrassed.

"Well, she does know how to throw a party… I don't know why I'm surprised" She said.

I thought for a second, unsure of if I should go or not, so I asked "Should I go?"

She pondered the idea, and responded; "It's a good idea, there will be food, and a bunch of people to meet, to get you acquainted to the town's population." Food? That's all I need to know, free non-MRE or mess hall grub! Of course, I didn't say this out loud.

What I actually said was; "I guess I'll go, then. I don't have anything else planned."

As we prepared to walk away, I heard a male pony's voice.

"Well, let's take a look see."

The pony was a light brown, golden eyes, and a black mane, short, in the military fashion. He examined the flyer. "Hey, Gunny! I found one!" He called out to a silver stallion with blood red eyes, and a white mane which was also in the military style. He quickly ran over, and I could hear the sound of his hooves against the dirt. The silver pony examined the flyer, and asked; "You think our newbie will be there?"

The light brown stallion responded; "Probably, he quickly checked out of the base, so he probably saw the flyer by now." The silver pony thought for a second, before continuing to speak; "Alright, we'll arrive about an hour early at 1805, just to make sure we don't miss him."

The light brown pony quickly responded "Aye, aye, Gunny!" as if it were an order, and they walked off.

Turning to Twilight Sparkle, she seemed rather surprised, and I must admit, I was too. "Who do you think they were?" asked Twilight.

I had gotten enough info in that one conversation to know the correct answer; "They were Royal Marines, looking for their new guy, the silver one's a Gunnery Sergeant, the light brown his subordinate. They are gonna try and find him at the party tonight. By the way, what time is it?"

Twilight looked at her watch, and answered; "eight past twelve". I still had plenty of time, so I assessed my situation; I had recently ate, met this mare, and am going to a party in seven hours. What to do, what to do.

We were interrupted for the second time, again, right before we were about to walk away. "So, you comin'?!" Asked a very enthusiastic mare with a high pitched voice. I didn't recognize who the hell was talking, so I turned to make visual contact. It was a pink mare, with light blue eyes, and a pink mane that was, I don't know what the hell it was. It was everywhere! I recognized her cutie mark to be some balloons, as it was showing on her shirt. Many ponies put their cutie marks on a symbol and displayed it on their attire to show them off without having to flash everyone their ass. Most pony related militaries in the world had it so you could put your cutie mark on a patch and wear it on your combat uniforms and fatigues. I had a patch of my cutie mark, but I don't display it often. Before I could answer, Twilight thought it was best to introduce each other.

"Misriah, this is Pinkie Pie" She said.

I looked at her, put on a friendly smile, and said "Hi".

Her response was without delay; "Hello ! Are you gonna go to the party?!" I came to the conclusion that this pony was really adamant about finding the answer, so I gave it to her;

"Yeah. I mean I guess so." Pinkie Pie jumped in excitement.

"Yes! Yes you should! There's no better way to welcome you to ponyville other than with a party!" The pink mare exclaimed enthusiastically. I was taken off guard by the fact she knew that the party was to welcome me.

"How did you-?" However, I was quickly interrupted.

"I know everyone from here, and since I don't know you, you aren't from here, and due to the timing of you getting here, you must be one of the ponies I'm welcoming!" She explained, and she was spot on.

"Well, you sure are observant." I complimented.

Twilight jumped into the conversation rather suddenly. "Pinkie, where's Spike?" Asked the violet mare.

The pink pony faced her and took a second to answer this time. "Well, he was helping set up the party, but then Rarity wanted to borrow him." She explained. I didn't know a damn thing about this "Spike" character, or this "Rarity" but I observed that they must at least be acquaintances to these two.

Twilight sighed. "Alright, we should at least go check on them." Said Twilight, and neither I, nor Pinkie had any objections. We got a move on towards this clothing store, which was odd for me, as I rarely had to buy any kind of clothing besides uniforms. We had entered the store, and I immediately noticed the only place I had seen clothes within a single fraction of fashion as the ones in this shop, was at the dry cleaners to get my class Bs and As cleaned. I eventually heard a feminine voice that said "Thank you spike. Now would you be a dear and put this over there?". In response there was another voice which sounded to be a male, although probably not a pony. "Alright. I got it." It said. After moving a couple meters, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and I had visual contact with a white mare with purple hair, and her cutie mark was displayed on her dress, which was a beautiful silver. She had noticed us and welcomed us here. "Why hello darlings! And who is this one?" She said. I assumed she was talking about me, and spoke up.

"Name's Misriah."

"It's nice to meet you! My name is Rarity."

"Likewise. Nice collection of dresses and suits. Wish I could get one…"

"Well why can't you?"

"Well, first, just by looking I can tell they are expensive, it wouldn't be practical for my line of work, and I probably would never wear them."

"Oh, is that so?"

"I'm afraid it's true. I have my dress uniform and ceremonial uniform, so I wouldn't find many times to actually wear any of these."

"A dress and ceremonial uniform?"

"Well, being in the Equestrian Defense Forces, everything you ever really need is given to you."

"Ah I understand! So, may I ask, what branch exactly?"

"Royal Marines."

"Well, I have always thought their dress uniforms are very nice looking, and it fits their aesthetic very well."

"Really?"

"Well of course. They look strong and courageous, yet uniformed and disciplined, it is a marvelous design."

"Well, thanks."

Twilight interrupted the conversation at that point. We had come here with a mission objective, to check up on Spike, now that Rarity seemed to be doing fine. "Hey, um, Rarity, where is Spike?" Asked the violet mare.

Rarity paused for a second, then turned to call for him. "Spike, you are wanted at the front counter."

The voice I heard earlier quickly replied "On my way!" A couple seconds later, a purple dragon with green scales dressed in camouflage pants and a white shirt walked forward. He was a tad shorter than I was, which is still pretty short, as I am most definitely not a tall or even average sized pony.

As he got to the counter he took a quick look at me, and then to Twilight "Oh, hi Twilight". However, before Twilight could answer him he looked at me. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Misriah. And I think I have said my name more today than ever before." I answered, with a slight chuckle. He seemed to examine me, and if he got what I meant or not was apparently irrelevant.

"Cool. I'm Spike." Said the dragon.

Twilight finally got Spike's attention. "C'mon spike. We got places to be." Said the violet mare.

"Wait, what?" Said the dragon, unsure of what she meant. Twilight sighed.

"Spike, we got to help set up the party to welcome our new service ponies to town." Explained Twilight.

Spike didn't want to leave, and was quick to reply; "All that stuff is done. Cakes, pies, donuts, decorations, and everything that needed help is finished, all that's left is the stuff only pinky can do."

And Pinkie Pie was quick to affirm the statement; "Yep. And even that is complete. Or else I wouldn't be here, would I?" I figured that things weren't going in Twilight's favor, so I decided to intervene.

"Well, is there anyone else I should meet, I mean now that I am getting acquainted with all of your friends, I might as well." It was the worst excuse I could have ever made, but it was all I could think of, and it seemed to work regardless.

Working in cohesion with my statement, Twilight added "Yeah, and one of them called for you, Spike."

The dragon didn't fight, responded with an "Okay" and soon enough we were leaving the boutique, Rarity calling behind us "Later, darlings, I'll catch up after work today!"

About 45 minutes later, the party had led me to a yellow pegasus mare's house. It was interesting, there was an abundance of animals and animal related stuff, such as cages and food. The mare's name was Fluttershy, and she fit her namesake. "So, Fluttershy, how's everything been this past twenty-four hours?" I asked.

"A little hectic, Pinkie Pie wanted me to help set up a welcome party today, so I was helping to work with decorations and such." Fluttershy answered.

I thought for a second before continuing. I didn't have much to say, however, I did notice; "Pinkie really does get you all to help, huh?"

Fluttershy responded in her usual demeanor; "Well, yes. But we're glad to help!"

"Well, what are friends for?" I jokingly stated.

"Which reminds me…" Began Twilight Sparkle. "I still have some friends you should meet."

I looked at her for a second. "Yeah?"

"Mhm. They are actually within the same area, so we could meet them both at once."

"And who are they?"

Pinkie Pie jumped in "She's talking about Rainbow Dash and Applejack! Right? Right!"

Twilight then reassured Pinkie. "Yes. They are both probably at Sweet Apple Acres, I think we should visit."

Sweet Apple Acres. Right off the bat I started to make assumptions, judging a place by name. So, taking it apart, "Apple" and "Acres"... Probably an apple orchard… What kind of people do you meet on apple orchards? Hillbillys and rednecks! I stopped myself there. Those sorts of people aren't bad, and stop judging things by name, dingus! And wow, I should stop talking to myself, even if it's in my own head. But seriously, they are friends with Twilight, so they should be some cool people. My thoughts were interrupted by Fluttershy.

"They were having some sort of challenge or fight again, I think…"

"Well, that can't be good now, can it?" I replied.

"Actually, it's probably just a friendly match," Twilight added.

With that, we began our trek towards Sweet Apple Acres. On the way, I had started to reflect upon today, I think for maybe the second time? I have done a lot of walking, but I don't mind that. A good walk is great for the body. I looked at my watch; 15:24 (3:24). Still had about 3 hours until the party. Looking over my shoulder, I spotted a very bored and kinda annoyed dragon. He looked to be in his teenage years, maybe 16 to 17. Time aged, rather than greed, seeing as he isn't trying to rob me. "So spike, what's your story?"

"Huh?"

"Your story. Your life, hobbies, ambitions, watcha wanna be…"

"Oh. Currently I work as Twilight's assistant. But I plan on joining the defense forces when I can."

Twilight didn't seem to like the idea. "But Spike! What will I do when you're gone?"

"Get another assistant?"

"But no one can replace you!"

"They don't have to replace me. They just need to help you. I'll still be your friend after all."

"But why the military? You could get hurt!"

"I'm a dragon! I'm built for that sort of thing! And I am a citizen of equestria! As such, it is my responsibility, just as it is the responsibility of every citizen, to protect and support the nation!"

There was a moment of silence, no one had expected such a dramatic answer. I added on; "He's kinda right. But there are other ways to support your country than fighting, even in the military, most of us don't fight, we support the ones who do."

"Well, what do you do, Misriah?" asked the dragon, looking up at me.

"I fight. That's what I've always done. What I've always been good at."

Silence fell for the second time.

"Everypony has their part to play. You'll find yours."

The dragon seemed content with my answer, and we continued walking.

Our party arrived at 16:02 (4:02 PM) at Sweet Apple Acres. As we walked in, I heard rapid sounds of impacts, grunts, a yells. Making visual contact, there was a cyan pegasus mare facing off against a bright brilliant gamboge earth pony in a Mixed Martial Arts ring. The group decided not to interrupt until the match was over.

The fight was intense with the cyan mare (who Twilight had told me was Rainbow Dash) went for rapid strikes against the earth pony (who I figured to be Applejack). Applejack managed to dodge most of the blows, countering with a fast and powerful roundhouse kick, connecting with the side of her opponent, sure to leave a bruise. However, Dash remained unphased, using this opportunity to deliver a palm hand strike to Applejack's sternum, causing her to stagger back and gasp. The fight seemed to stop for a second, before Applejack went on the offensive, punching towards Rainbow's face, who either evaded or blocked every hit before managing to sweep Applejack off balance and to the ground. With her opponent on the floor, Rainbow Dash stood above her, waiting for her to get up or give up. But then, Applejack swiftly got into a crouched position and performed an uppercut right into Dash's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and causing her the match.

I clapped and applauded at the fight, as I had enjoyed watching it. Applejack seemed to notice and give a smile, before taking off her gloves and headgear. Rainbow Dash also removed her gear. The group and I approached the two ponies.

"Well what happened this time?" Twilight asked.

"Just a sparring match." Answered Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, just wanted to get some practice in." Applejack added on with a southern accent. Though why I was surprised I don't know.

"And who might this be?" Rainbow Dash asked, most likely referring to me, so I stepped forward.

"Name's Misriah."

"Rainbow Dash."

"Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash."

"Likewise. And this is Applejack."

I extended my hand to the gamboge mare.

"Hello."

"Howdy." She said as she shook my hand.

"You have a strong grip." I commented.

"Well so do you." She replied. For a second, we both tried to squeeze harder than the other, but no one seemed to win.

"So, I see you both fight?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm a black belt in Karate." Replied Rainbow Dash.

"I'm taking kickboxing." Applejack answered.

"Nice, nice. I'm a brown belt in Taekwondo, but a black belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, working on becoming instructor qualified." I stated.

"Marine Corps, huh?" Rainbow said, kinda mischievously.

"Yeah. Problem?" I asked.

"Oh boy…" Sighed Applejack.

"Oh, there's no problem, Jarhead." Dash commented, I'm guessing in an effort to insult me.

"Throwing names around, huh? What service are you in, cause all I see is a civvie." I snap back.

"Wonderbolt reserves." She answered.

"So you are a civvie, with a reserve position in a quasi-military entertainment organization that models itself after the chair force?" I snicker. "Even if I was a pegasus, I'd rather be a grunt." I continue.

Rainbow Dash didn't seem to take it well. "Ya wanna fight, punk?"

"Frankly, no. I'd rather let this pass. I gotta say sorry to some of my friends for saying 'chair force' and you're all bruised up. It wouldn't be fair." I responded.

"Fine." Was all I got in return.

A couple moments passed, and pinkie pie then jumped in; "Wowee! That was interesting! First Applejack and Dashie are fighting! And it looks like Dash has won, then pow! Applejack wins, and then Dashie almost fights Misriah! Probably would have been a cool fight!"

Fluttershy seemed to have a different opinion; "I think it was kind of scary…"

"So, got plans for today?" Applejack asked.

"I got a party at 7 or so, but besides that, not much."

"Alright. I guess I'll show up then,"

"Cool. How about you, Dash?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Awesome. Well, I gotta go and get ready then, I'll meet you all there, right?"

All the ponies replied in a positive way, so yeah, they'll be there.

 **A.N: That was so difficult, and long… Which means the other chapters have to be long to fit this one… WHY! Oh well, it'll get done… To those who managed to read all that, PMs AND REVIEWS ARE IN POPULAR DEMAND, BY ME! PLEASE POST OR SEND ME ONE! FEEDBACK IS ALL I WANT. Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2: Simulation

**AN: A grand total of TWO reviews for chapter 1! YES! That means someone is reading, so I'll keep writing! Also, again, I would really like reviews for my story. What am I doing wrong? What am I doing right? What would you like to see? Please, I WANNA KNOW!**

I walked my way to the Watchbase, showed the Marine Security my ID, and began walking towards the male enlisted barracks. However, on my way there, 2nd lieutenant Thunder found me.

"Ey! Misriah!" He hailed. I looked over at him and smiled.

"Ahoy, L.T!" I walked over to see him. "Done napping?"

"Yeah, yeah. I heard there's gonna be a party tonight?"

"Yep. I was just heading to my 'racks to get myself ready. Ya know, make myself identifiable."

"Ah yes. I'll come with."

"Why?"

"You walked me to my barracks, I'll walk you to yours. Besides, we gotta get food, so if we arrive together, we'll both get eats."

"Sounds good." I say, and we begin our walk to my barracks. Rolling Thunder checked his watch, but didn't say the time. It was quiet for a little bit, but then Thunder asked;

"So what'd you do today?"

"While you were out, I was out getting lunch. And I met these Mares-" My sentence was interrupted.

"Mares, huh?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Were they hot?"

"What? C'mon man!"

"I wanna know if the girls here are pretty. So are they hot?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"Don't 'I guess' me! It's a yes or no, Private."

"Uh. Yes, Sir."

"Cool. So go on." Rolling Thunder finished. I had honestly lost my place, but I found a subject to recover on.

"They were pretty cool. I don't know what to make out of it, but they seemed alright."

"Alright. Anything else?"

"It doesn't rain much here…"

"Really?"

"But when it does rain, it rains like hell."

"Seems legit."

We continued with our small talk all the way to the enlisted barracks. Upon reaching my door, Rolling Thunder said he'd wait outside. Walking in, I spotted my carryall and dufflebag both sitting right where I had left them. I took a shower and looked at my options of clothing. Which were rather limited.

My Class As would be way too formal. I could wear my Class Bs, but even that could be too formal for a welcome party. What does one wear at a welcome party? I figure you wear what is an expression of you. PT clothes would work, but I don't PT all day, and I ain't a body builder. I could wear my cammies, and that would definitely show my Marine Corps pride, but I don't think I'd wear the whole thing cap and all. I eventually settled for the tiger stripe camouflage BDU pants, but with a dark brown t-shirt, as a non-uniformed uniform. Grabbing my patrol cap, I exited the barracks. Rolling Thunder examined me as I walked out. "How's it look?" I asked.

"Good." Was his answer. "C'mon. We've wasted too much time already. You take forever to choose what to wear."

"I can be a bit indecisive at times, yeah."

"You'll have to work on it."

We arrived about five minutes early at the town hall, right on time. Walking in, the place was pretty full, but not so full that it was difficult getting anywhere. I examined the environment. There were many ponies, both military and civilian alike. Everypony was congregating into groups. Seemed natural, ponies hang out with similar ponies, after all. There seemed to be the Marine Security group, a group of grunts, a party of officers, and then some pegasi group, Air Assault Infantry, by the feather pattern camouflage some are wearing, and then there were wanderers, going between the groups. I noticed that, besides the Air Assault Infantry, the spec ops communities are missing. Where's HECU? Recon? I looked over to Rolling Thunder

"Hey, seems the Special Operations community is missing."

"Yeah. Or, they are being modest and acting like professional badasses, unlike the fucking Air Assault."

"They are the kind to boast, huh."

"They relate themselves to the Wonderbolts, back when they were an actual division of the equestrian military. So they like to think they are the 'Modern Wonderbolt Soldier' and crap like that."

I was legitimately surprised at the knowledge the officer had on the subject. My interest peaked, I asked him: "How do you know this?" Thunder took a second to answer, maybe tactfully selecting his vocabulary.

"I was in Air Assault Infantry, twice in fact. First was Air Force, then I transferred to Navy. No matter which branch, AAI is the same, and we as Marines are already prideful as hell. So, after figuring so, I said 'screw it, I'm gonna do actual pilot stuff and really fly'. I was sick of my own pride. So I joined the Marines."

Made sense to me. I don't have friends in Air Assault Infantry, but even at the old base, they were always somewhere noticeable, but yet acted as if they didn't pay attention to anyone. So it sounded legit to me. I had finally spotted Pinkie Pie bouncing about the hall, making sure everything was in order. She seemed to spot me too, as she also began to move in my direction.

"You came! Misriah, you came!"

"Yeah. I told you I would."

"Yay! Twilight is already here, as is Rarity!"

"Cool. What about the others?"

"They're on their way. I'll go get Rarity and Twilight for you while ya wait!

"That'd be much appreciated." I said, before the pink mare ran off back into the party.

"Who was that?" Asked Lieutenant Thunder.

"Her name's Pinkie Pie, and she's one of the mares I met. And you have her to thank for the party."

"Oh. Cool."

I signalled Thunder to follow me, and we found a counter to sit at. Taking our seats, I ordered myself a sandwich and cola. Thunder ordered the same. While we were waiting, we made small talk, about personal experiences and such. "Why does this base even exist?" I asked, wanting the lieutenants input on the question.

"I asked myself the same thing, as well as one the bases captains. No one here really knows, I'm afraid. I mean, the most logical answer I got was that this was really an environmental training base, for urban and forest fighting as well as with the added benefit of heavy rains." He explained.

"I don't know. I still think that we should tear the base down and set one up over by the Changeling Empire border north of us, or Yakyakistan to the east," I stated

"Switch your borders."

"What?"

"Yakyakistan is to the north. Changelings are east."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you think of when you hear 'Yakyakistan'? Snow, which means cold, so north. What do you think when you hear 'Changeling Empire'? An arid desert, which means it would be to the south east."

"Okay, you're right. But still."

"I get what you mean."

Eating our meals, we were joined by the same light brown and silver ponies from earlier today. The ones who were looking for their newbie.

"Excuse me, sir. Have you heard of a Private Misriah?" Asked the silver pony, who I remembered to be a Gunnery Sergeant. I waited for Rolling Thunder to answer. After all, he was talking to the officer.

"He's right here," Thunder replied, extending a hand towards me.

"Oh. Well thanks, sir. Misriah, I am Gunnery Sergeant Iron Hartmane. I'll be your squad lead while you're here," Said the silver pony. In response, I stood up from my chair, and took the pony hand in a firm handshake, looking into his deep red eyes.

"Good to be here, gunny."

Next to him was a light brown pony with gold eyes, who took a step forward. The gunny introduced him to me; "Misriah, this is Corporal Righteous Crusade, and he'll be your fire team lead," I shook hands with the corporal as well.

"I look forward to working with you." I said, trying to get to know the Corporal.

"Likewise. I'm guessing you're anti-tank qualified?" Asked Crusade. And all I could think of was 'Aw crap'. However, I wasn't going to lie.

"Yes, Corporal."

"Good, you know what that means."

"Aye. I carry the MATADOR."

"Right. Sorry, but you know how it works."

"Yeah. Newbie gets the heavy gear."

So Corporal Crusade, Gunnery Sergeant Hartmane, 2nd Lieutenant Thunder, and I sat there talking for a bit, and I got to know that my squadmates were actually pretty cool guys. Crusade had joined up just 5 years ago, a single year ahead of me, and Hartmane has been at it for about maybe 9 years now. We eventually started talking about training and swapped experiences of live fire exercises, and they both told me about the patrols and mock fights they do in the Everfree Forest. Naturally, once we got into how we use our equipment we had to get into what our equipment actually is. "Ya know, what's stupid is that no matter how hard we try, we can't ever update our military's arsenal. The griffons, Caneighda, Prance, Neighpon, and of course Spurta all outgun us because some members of the Royal Court, including the princesses, won't allow us to get some updated tech!" Exclaimed Righteous Crusade.

"Well, we're making progress, but it is really slow compared to some other countries." I explain.

"What rifle were you issued, Misriah?" Asked the Gunnery Sergeant.

"I got myself an M16, the new A4 model," I said.

"Oh, back when they got us some Griffon gear, but the stuff was expensive so less than 3 battalions worth of men were issued it. So how'd you get your hands on one?"

"I dunno. I did score pretty well on rifle qualification, so I think they gave me the rifle because it is more accurate and has a longer range than most others, and I'd put it to better use."

"Well I got myself an FN FAL, because y'know how they tried to modernize us again just 2 years ago?" Crusade leaned back into his seat.

"Yeah, they wanted to completely phase out the AK74M in favor for the FAL, but give squad and fire team leaders the M16s because they could put a 203 grenade launcher on it," I answered. "But it was interrupted by the Royal Court, and only a couple units would get it for field testing before any more modernization would be considered."

"What the hell are squad and fire team leads gonna use an M203 for anyway? I mean sure, grenade launching, duh, but we don't actually invade other countries, using HEs would just be destroying our own home," Crusade complained.

"I believe the actual purpose was to have the ability to launch smoke grenades and flares to better coordinate a squad. For example, you could fire a red smoke onto an enemy position to mark it for your team, or use flares to signal another element or detachment." Explained Hartmane. "Besides, I'm still stuck with an AK 74, so be happy."

"Oh, and Misriah, do you have a '203?" Asked Crusade.

"No."

"Get one, and put it on your M16."

We continued to talk, but Rolling Thunder had to leave, said his brother needed help. Eventually Twilight Sparkle and Rarity had showed up, bringing Applejack and Spike with them. I examined them all. Rarity was in a nice pretty dress, Applejack was in normal farm wear, Twilight had worn nice semi formal "picture" clothing, and spike hadn't changed. I stood up to welcome them. "Hello group!" I said, and I got a greeting from them all in exchange. "Where's Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy?"

"Dash is around here somewhere. And Fluttershy had to leave," Answered Applejack.

"Said something about having to take care of an animal," Spike added.

"Well, that's unfortunate," I said, before turning to my group of Marines on the counter; "Sorry guys, I'm out," Crusade and Hartmane both said their goodbyes, but I would be seeing them tomorrow for work. As I left with my new set of friends to party, I looked out the window of the town hall, and there was a very suspicious somepony. I eventually overlooked it, as it was probably just me, and I quickly forgot about it. The group and I eventually found Rainbow Dash, just hanging around. I called out "Dashie!" and she took notice, walking her way to the group. "Having fun, Dash?" I asked.

"It's not bad. But it is, afterall, Pinkie's party."

"I will admit, she's good at what she does."

"The best."

"Probably."

The rest of the night was mostly partying, however I did not want to stay up too late. I had left at about 9pm to walk back to my barracks. Hartmane had told me that tomorrow we're doing rifle drills, so I got my separate Battle Dress ready and packed everything I would need.

The next morning I woke up at 5:30AM and got ready for the day. Putting on my BDU, making sure the sleeves were nicely rolled, grabbing my rifle, carryall backpack, and everything else I had managed to pack that day. Setting out, I went to link up with the squad at Hall Gate. I had arrived at 6:25 AM, and upon arrival, a Marine came by, and took a large cylindrical tube off of his back, dropping it at my feet. "That's yours," Said the Marine. I picked up the 20 pound MATADOR rocket launcher, and slung it behind my back. Five minutes later, Gunnery Sergeant Hartmane started his roll call, calling the name of everypony in the squad. No absentees. "Alright. Mustang 1, horseshoe!" ordered the Gunny, and the squad obeyed, gathering in a horseshoe around him. "Okay squad. We're gonna do some fire drills today, and such we're gonna have a fake fight to refine battle tactics. I have gotten the EOD base detachment to set up simulates ordnance, Mustang 1-1 will be playing as GreenFor, Mustang 1-2 will be playing BluFor, and Mustang 1-3 will be OpFor. EOD senior NCOs and officers will be tagging people as wounded or dead based on tactical mistakes and exactly who gets hit. Oorah?" The Gunny explained the operation.

"Oorah!" Everyone repeated.

"Alright. But before the fun stuff, we're gonna march our way to the ammunitions depot and then to the Everfree Forest. Fall in, two squads!" Ordered Hartmane. The entire squad had formed up into two rows, 7 in front 6 in back, and performed automatic dress right dress.

"Squad, attention! Right, face! Forward, march!"

We had executed our orders flawlessly, marching our way to the ammunitions depot, listening to the squad lead calling "Left, left, left right on left" to keep us in step. Upon reaching our destination, we were each given 12 magazines of simunition (simulated ammunition, like paintball except it actually flies and is fired from a real gun) for our rifles, 3 belts if you were a machine gunner using the M60. Each man was also given 4 orange Fog grenades (like smoke except more instant, but with smaller coverage) which would simulate frag grenades, 2 red smoke, 3 white smoke, and 1 green smoke. Loaded and ready to go, we marched into the Everfree Forest.

We had reached our destination at 7:30 am, and was greeted by several figures in ghillie suits. I had assumed they were the EOD NCOs and officers that were gonna be calling us out on tactical mistakes. Gunnery Sergeant Hartmane got us back into a horseshoe position around him. "So in this scenario, BluFor will be representing Royal Marines trying to kill or capture a warlord hiding in a village in greneighda. OpFor are Insurgent Militia trying to protect the HVT. GreenFor are UN peacekeeper security forces, and they must keep the area from being influenced by insurgents and marines. The operation is a unsanctioned assault on a village under UN occupation, so GreenFor are friendly to no one. Oorah?"

"Oorah!"

"Good. Just to recap. BluFor gets 2 points for killing the HVT, 3 for extracting, and 1 for maintaining influence. Also note, if BluFor has control, they can extract while in the AO. OpFor gets 1 point per wound, 2 points per kill, and 3 for control of AO. If the HVT is killed, it's minus 3 points, and minus 4 for extracting. If OpFor has AO control, only 2 and 3 points will be deducted. OpFor score cannot go below zero. GreenFor scores 1 for each wound, 2 for each kill, and 1 for gaining AO control, but losses 5 if control is taken from them. BluFor wins if it outscores OpFor, OpFor wins if it outscores BluFor. GreenFor wins if it has a positive score at the end. It is possible for both GreenFor and another Force to win while only one loses. AO control is decided by the EOD combat controllers, and they will also be setting off simulated ordnance to represent enemy thrown frag grenades, grenade launchers, IEDs, and so forth. Also note, while we're the only enemies or allies you can see and shoot, you aren't the only enemies or allies being represented here, so a little imagination required. Ready up, we begin in 30 mikes." Explained Iron Hartmane.

Each of the three fireteams dispersed into separate directions. "Misriah! Over here!" I heard somepony yell. Looking over, I spotted Corporal Righteous Crusade hailing me. I double timed my way over, grouping up with 3 other ponies; A black furred, red maned pegasus, an earth pony with a camouflage green coat and a black mane, and a unicorn with navy blue fur and a gold mane. "Alright team, we're BluFor, so primary objective is the HVT, area domination is secondary." Crusade put a topographic map on the ground in front of us. "The HVT will begin here. OpFor about 400 meters to the east. And GreenFor will start about 300 meters to the north, and will patrol along the road. How do you say we do this?" Crusade said.

"Well, once first shots are fired, everyone is going to break into combat reactions. What would you be doing?" Asked the pegasus. I had run through the situation in my head before replying.

"If we were GreenFor, we'd first find cover before moving forward to clear out and secure the area. How we go about it, would depend on where we are at the time. If we were OpFor, we'd secure our immediate area and move the VIP to the most defendable position." I answer.

"Sounds good, Misriah. So, if we're gonna beat the enemy in the field we must beat them in mind." Crusader explained. "So the real question is, how do we react when that happens?"

The unicorn pointed at the OpFor deployment. "We have to think even earlier than contact. Deployment. Once it starts, OpFor is going to move in on the HVT. They deploy in a forested area, but once they reach the city they are gonna take the alleyways for speed and cover up until the HVT. Once they reach the HVT, they'll move him. To where, I'm not quite sure."

Our fireteam examined a the map a little more, until the green earth pony spoke. "Back to the alleyways. Easily defendable with only two real directions, but they could breach a door for quick escape." Crusade didn't like the answer, but he knew it was true.

"Damnit. I would have liked to narrow it down to a compound, but now we have an entire area to search." Crusade complained.

"Then I suggest we reach the HVT fast, before the OpFor reach him. And remember, once we extract the HVT, he's gonna be reinserted on the least contested area of the map." I stated.

"Right, but if we don't know where the HVT is, neither will OpFor," The pegasus crossed his arms.

"Not necessarily," Corrected the unicorn. "HVT will probably radio his position to the OpFor."

"I got a solution for that." exclaimed Crusade. "We engage the OpFor early, if we can wound or kill one, and get a look at his radio, we can copy the frequency and channel."

"Right. But what about GreenFor?" Asked the earth pony.

"GreenFor is gonna continue up the main street, maybe clearing alleyways and building they think may have contact." explained the Corporal.

"At a patrol pace, they won't be very far once we make contact with OpFor, but we are best to avoid them. We don't gain anything from fighting them." I pointed out.

"Right. So, when the round starts, we move into the alleyways and engage the OpFor, get the radio frequency, pull back after the HVT, extract, and then pull out and plan again. We'll regroup and rearm about 150 meters south in the forest. Good?"

We all agreed on the plan, and Corporal Crusade lead the team to our staging area. We loaded in our mags and got ready to execute our plan. I wasn't new to this, but whenever you get ready to fight, even if you're absolutely prepared, there is always gonna be a worry factor. What if things go wrong? GreenFor could move faster than expected, so once we ambush OpFor, GreenFor would move in and have us cornered. Thats one of many possibilities. But, ya just gotta swallow it.

"Alright fire team. Now that the plan is all set, I'll introduce you guys. Misriah, this is Private First Class Colt Force, our SAW Gunner."

"Glad to meet you," I said to the camouflage pony.

"Mutual," responded Pfc. Force.

"The pegasus is Lance Corporal Vermillion Shadow."

"Ready for this?" Asked the black pegasus.

"Oh hell yeah." I answered.

"And the unicorn is Private Ocean Breeze."

"Think we good?" I asked the navy blue unicorn

"Yeah. We got this. We good," Was Pvt Breeze's answer."

"Alright, now that you've been properly introduced, get ready. We start in 5 mikes." Ordered Corporal Crusade. We fell silent, ready to move as soon as the green flare was launched, marking the start of the operation. It seemed like eternity, like those 5 minutes we're the longest minutes ever experienced, and frankly, I didn't mind. Then suddenly a loud pop was heard, and looking up, I saw a streak of light fly into the air, then igniting on its way down, illuminating everything with green light. And we moved. We double timed our way to the city, staggered column on Righteous Crusade. We had to move fast if we were gonna get em. Moving into the city we checked our corners. We knew that so far we were executing the plan perfectly, as simulated ordnance has yet to go off signalling we had exposed ourselves to an invisible enemy. Taking it slow and steady ee breached corners in a textbook commando style, clearing each alleyway. LCpl Force had been watching our backs the whole time.

It took us about 13 minutes to reach our ambush point, and we had arrived before the enemy. Still no shots, or explosions. Yet I knew that we were being watched for every tactical mistake. EOD officers waiting and watching, analyzing our movements for errors, waiting to set off their explosives, call us out. We had waited at the ambush point for a minute, and still no contact. We began to get worried something was off. Until we heard shuffling down the alley way. The team concealed ourselves the best we could, taking cover behind concrete walls and metal dumpsters. I hid behind a dumpster, and was using a small hole to get a look at the enemy as they advanced in our direction. "Corporal. When they get close, I'll toss a frag at the first guy, then the team should cover me as I go for his radio frequency," I whispered to Crusade.

"Everypony got that?" He silently asked the rest if the team, who responded positively.

I eventually saw the enemy OpFor, dressed in non uniformed militia clothing to fit the were sixty meters and closing. Fifty meters. Forty. At 30 meters, I pulled the pin on the orange fog grenade. The enemy seemed to notice, as they all stopped moving, facing directly in our direction, but still have yet to spot us. I cooked it for 3 seconds, before tossing it over my head and cover. It wasn't a great toss as it fell about 3 meters short, but it exploded a moment after hitting the ground, before anyone could call "Grenade!". The enemy point man was engulfed in orange smoke, and I heard a voice talking from a megaphone; "OpFor pointman is incapacitated and unconscious!" it said, and I noticed that we were being watched from the second story of an apartment complex.

LCpl Force opened up on the enemy team with his M60, firing bursts of five to ten rounds into the fog, with a yellow tracer every four rounds. "Suppressing!" He screamed, as the rest if the team opened up with their rifles to cover me as I moved up. I ran into the smoke, keeping my head down, as I finally spotted the enemy laying down on the floor, pretending to be unconscious. Going prone, I scrambled up to him, and I could hear the gunfire coming from both sides, although the bullets didn't have the crack to them, because they were traveling subsonic. I climbed onto the enemy, and eyed his radio, channel 3 frequency 097.5.

"Got it, falling back!" I called, however I right then realized it was a tactical mistake, as I started to see marks of paint fall around me, and such I took cover behind the unconscious enemy, but this did not stop the firing. I heard two liquid sounding impacts, and the body in front of me squirmed in pain, followed by a hollar of agony.

"Friendly Fire! The downed OpFor is dead! Watch who you shoot at!" Boomed the voice from the officer watching our engagement.

I crawled my way back into cover. "I got it! I got it!" I screamed.

"Alright, withdraw!" Ordered Crusade. Private Breeze started to fall back, and covered our escape route. Followed by me. Lance Corporal Shadow eventually withdrew, presumably emptying his magazine before doing so. "Cmon Force!" Screamed Crusade to the SAW Gunner. The team leader tried to cover the automatic riflemen, but while crossing, Force took a shot to the thigh.

"BluFor MG is wounded and cannot walk!" Stated the observer. Crusade picked him up and we got moving. I quickly handed the wounded my rifle and traded for his M60. I grabbed a spare belt from his off of him and loaded it as fast as possible. Loaded, I laid down suppressive fire to keep the enemy from advancing. We fell back down the alleyway about 15 meters. Holding the weapon with one hand, I took a white smoke out of my vest, using my mouth to pull the pin, and dropped it at my feet as the grenade started to seep white smoke and obscure the alleyway to break visual contact with the enemy as we made our escape. The team took a left down a separate alley way and Vermillion kicked open a door to the teams right and breached the room with Ocean Breeze.

"Right side clear!"

"Left side clear!"

"Room clear!"

Righteous Crusade carried Colt Force into the room and set him down. I made sure no one saw our retreat, and closed the door behind me. Walking up to Colt and Righteous, I returned the M60, and took back my M16. "Misriah, Shadow, clear the rest of this complex, Breeze, get over here. I'ma gonn call in supervision and you perform first aid on him. Do it right and we might be able to get him back in the fight."

"Aye aye" we answered, and I could hear the corporal radio for supervision to watch Breeze try to fix up Force.

Pfc Shadow and I stacked up on the next room, I was in front. I put a thumbs up to show I was ready, and I got a tap on my shoulder, signifying he was ready as well. Using my fingers, I counted down from three. Three… Two… Breach! I opened the door and cleared the lethal front, then turning to the left and moving to let Vermillion Shadow move in.

"Left side clear!" I announced.

"Right side clear!"

"Room clear!"

We repeated the process throughout the compound, moving to the second floor and clearing that too. Of course, we did spot supervisors in the compound, to make sure everything was done by the books, or they'd say one of us is dead. We returned to Corporal Righteous Crusade and found that Ocean Breeze had begun her first aid, and she seemed to be finishing up. Applying the last bandage, we noticed the supervisor shake a cup that sounded like it had some cube in it. A die most likely, to determine the random result. "The bleeding stops, no major internal damage. He can fight, but he'll have to limp. Fastest I wanna see him go is an unsteady trot." Said the officer, who then walked off to where he was needed next.

"Rooms clear, corporal," Pfc Shadow reported.

"Good. Alright guys, let's reassess," Crusade pulled out his map, and marked where we currently were. "We gotta move on the HVT. I think that the OpFor will be occupied for a little bit."

"They at least have to move at a slower pace. They are a gun short after all," I stated.

"Misriah, did you get the radio freq?" asked Breeze.

"Yeah. Here." I took out my radio and changed the channel to channel 3, frequency 097.5 and the team began to listen in.

"-stang 1-3, where are you! My position will be compromised soon!

"We've encountered BluFor Mustang 1-2, and taken a casualty. Currently being engaged by GreenFor, hold position! How copy?"

Gunshots can be heard between the operators words

"Solid copy, holding position."

"He's still right where we want 'em," Shadow leaned against the wall.

"GreenFor is engaging OpFor, should hold them off for a bit. Let's move on our objective, we're already a point behind. Maybe more now that OpFor is fighting." Ordered Crusade. "let's go, we gotta get into the next complex over."

The team stacked up on the exit. I would be breaching first with Shadow behind me. Breeze and Crusade would toss smoke once we clear the immediate alleyway, and then we'd breach the compound. Thumbs up, should tapp, three, two, one, execute. I open the door, clear lethal front and left.

"Left side clear."

"Right side clear."

"Alleyway clear."

The smoke grenades started to fill in on the left and right side, rendering the team totally invisible to anypony in a building across the street, hoping to take shots. The team stacked up on the opening to the hostile compound. "Wait. Shadow could fly up the compound and breach from a window when we breach the objective room." Suggested Breeze.

"Right. Upwards, Shadow," Crusade took the suggestion. Vermillion Shadow flew upwards onto the building, moving cautiously as to not get spotted.

Crusade took Shadow's place when breaching. We stacked up, readied, and opened the door. This time, there was a mannequin pony armed with an AK 74 in front, so I put two rounds in its chest and one in its head. Turning to the left, an instructor with CQC training gear rushed me, managing to get close and clock me one in the jaw. Staggering back just enough to make space, I jabbed the instructor in the gut with the tip of my weapon, and screamed "Bang! Bang!" to signal that I had shot him while he was on the ground. He got up and resumed his position to ambush the next team. Before we could breach the next room, my radio caught another hostile transmission.

"Mustang 1-3, I heard shots in the first floor. I think BluFor is here for me, how copy?"

"Solid copy. Hold position, we are on our way. Mustang 1-3 withdraw! Withdraw!"

"They're withdrawing from their fight with GreenFor to move in on us," I explained.

"You stole the enemies radiofrequency?" asked the instructor who had ambushed me. "Good job."

We continued to breach rooms, and Force watched our back using his machine gun. Some rooms had targets, some didn't. Some had CQC, and one even had three at a time. We had almost lost, had Colt Force not walked up and kicked an instructor off of Ocean Breeze, and then called him out, which allowed Breeze to help me beat the second one and then we ganged up on the third. We had made it too the last room, where the HVT was being kept. I turned my radio off because I didn't want OpFor to realize I had it and switch. We stacked up, I was point. Upon execution, I opened the door and was immediately rushed by CQC, who tackled me backwards and into my team, delaying the whole assault. "Breeze, his legs!" I screamed. Ocean Breeze managed to climb his way over and grab the opponent's legs, locking them in place.

"I got his arms!" Announced Crusade as he pulled the enemy's arms to his chest, holding him down with a guard. With the enemy immobilized, I went for the head. However, he squirmed and continued to fight, managing to knee Breeze in the chin with with a _thlop,_ resulting in the Unicorn yelping in pain, but regaining control a second later. I finally managed to grip the enemy headgear and jerk it to the side, simulating breaking the neck of the enemy, causing the instructor to go limp, pretending to be dead.

We moved in, and then realized the second bodyguard was in fact armed, and fired rounds at us, causing us to fall back behind the wall, stalling our attack yet again. "Shadow, now!" Ordered Crusade over the radio. And then shadow busted down a window, flying in and gunning down the enemy bodyguard.

"Room clear!"

The rest of the team moved in, and we apprehended the HVT. "Corporal, you're gonna wanna have a look at this," stated Shadow, pointing towards the window.

"What is it?"

Shadow pointed towards the five pony team of GreenFor across the street 1 wounded, identifiable by the blue UN helmets of the troops they are representing. He then also continued to show that they are engaging and pursuing a 3 pony team of OpFor, two of which seemed to be wounded.

"GreenFor don't know we're here and left themselves exposed. OpFor will be breaching this compound soon. I see an opportunity for AO control," explained Shadow.

"Oh-ho-ho, hell yes!" Exclaimed Crusade. "Force, Shadow, get ready to engage GreenFor, The M60 and Vermillion's flight ability should allow you to get fire superiority on the enemy. Misriah, Breeze, down stairs, prepare to engage OpFor. I'll call in extract with green smoke. Once we have the AO."

"Oh yeah, get some!" taunted Force as he readied his machine gun at the window.

"Oorah! Let's go!" I exclaimed, bringing Breeze with me down stairs.

"Remember guys, we don't need to inflict casualties here, just keep the enemy suppressed and this is ours!" Called Crusade.

Breeze and I were in position on the doorway OpFor was most likely to open. "Alright. Execute!" Crusade said over the radio, which I had now set back to my fireteam. I immediately heard bursts from Colt Force's M60 firing upon the UN Peacekeepers, as well as the added pop of Vermillion's AK74M. We heard the OpFor stack up on our door, using this opportunity to escape from GreenFor while they were pinned by the unrelenting amount of machine gun fire. Breeze lowered his AK, and I lowered my M16, switching to burst fire.

The OpFor breached the room, the first one put down instantly by Breeze's fully automatic fire. Rapidly firing bursts of ammo, I dropped another, both were called dead by the instructor in the room. The third simply refused to face the hail of fire. Breeze and I let up on the fire rate to give each other time to reload, to keep the suppression constant. Eventually I hear "BluFor has Area of Operations control!" being broadcast over our radio. And two seconds later;

"Mustang 1-2 requesting HVT extraction over!"

"Roger that Mustang 1-2, mark current position, over."

"Mustang 1-2, Marking position with green smoke! How copy?"

"Solid copy, green smoke identified. Hold that position for 3 mikes. How copy?"

"Solid copy, wilco, out."

"Keep him down," Breeze requested, and in response I switched back to semi auto to allow a more sustained, though lighter, volume of suppressing fire, as Ocean Breeze pulled a fog out of his vest. Pulling the pin, he cooked it for 4 seconds, before tossing it out the door, which was immediately engulfed in orange smoke. The instructor walked out the door, and we could here him say;

"You're dead. OpFor mustang 1-3 team eliminated, move back to staging area and redeploy."

"Oorah!" I called "Damn fine throw, Breeze!" I turned into my radio to talk to Crusade; "OpFor has been eliminated, Breeze and I are gonna move back up to put more fire on GreenFor."

"Roger, go ahead. Only a mike four-zero left, keep the pressure on." Was the answer.

Breeze and I ran our way back up the compound, finding Force in the middle of a reload, which meant that the enemy wasn't being suppressed much. Breeze must have noticed this too, as we both ran to the window and sprayed rounds at every blue helmet we could find. Our magazines had run dry, so I had asked an instructor in the room; "Can I pretend to fire this?" referring to the MATADOR on my back.

"Yeah." Replied the instructor, pulling out a detonator. "Where you want it to hit?"

I pointed at the group of GreenFor, which I noticed 1 was dead and another two had been injured. The instructor brought out another dice cup and rolled it around, so only he saw the result.

"Fire it."

"Backblast clear!"

"Clear!"

"Firing!"

And at that, the instructor detonated some simulated munitions hidden under some rubble GreenFor had been using as cover. The instructor called out using a megaphone; "GreenFor closest to blast marker is dead, next incapacitated and unconscious, last two are heavily wounded but still fight worthy."

"The hell was that?!" One of the Peacekeepers hollered back.

"MATADOR rocket launcher."

"Aw, dammit"

The remaining two GreenFor knew better than to fight back, and so hunkered down behind cover, in relative safety as we fired at them for fun at this point, up until our radios recieved another transmission: "HVT extracted, pull out team."

In the end, the total points were:

OpFor: 0 points, 1 GreenFor wound and 1 BluFor wound, minus 4 points for HVT extraction, until zero.

GreenFor: -1 points, 2 for OpFor kill, 2 OpFor wounds, -5 for loss of AO control.

BluFor: 4 points, 3 for HVT extraction, 1 for AO control.

Winner: BluFor.

At the end of the day, GreenFor had won the most rounds with a score of 3 games. However, both OpFor and BluFor had won 2 rounds. It was already 9pm when we were getting debriefed. "So OpFor, Mustang 1-3, must work on their situational awareness and communication skills. GreenFor, mustang 1-1, did well overall, but shouldn't be static, and should work on mobility. BluFor, mustang 1-2, seems to be practically built for mobility, as well as taking attacks of opportunity, they have to be more cautious on who they assign to do what job. The Anti-Tank Missilepony should not be the initial breacher, and a pegasus pony should not be used to carry an HVT to extraction. All in all, it's a good training, it was fun, hope to do this again sometime, but for now, you're dismissed."

Before walking off, I heard somepony call my name, "Misriah!". I turned around to see Gunnery Sergeant Hartmane with the rest of my fire team. I walked over to join them, but as soon as I got close, the Gunny spoke "Misriah, I need to ask ya to help the EOD make sure everything is in order and ready to go. Mostly has to do with making sure the ammunition gets cleaned up and unexploded ordnance gets recovered. Might take an hour extra or two, but I know you got this." Hartmane chuckled. And all I thought was "holy crap… I hate being the fucking new guy," but, what I said was:

"Yes, Gunnny."

The group started to walk off, but Righteous Crusade commented; "You did good, Misriah. Glad to have you on the team."

"Yeah. Not bad at all." Added Colt Force.

"Better than Air Assault Infantry." Chuckled Vermillion Shadow.

"I'll get you a drink later." Ocean Breeze waved.

"Also, I told OpFor you had the frequency," Hartmane stated.

"Aww. But why?" I asked.

"Because in reality, that trick only works once." Hartmane walked off.

"Guys. This still ain't cool!" I called.

 **AN: Hey guys, what's this, an actual chapter two? Heresy. But really, I hoped you liked it. In the meantime, I'm writing chapter 3, so please write reviews and PMs, thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3: First Blood

**AN: Chapter three is where it really starts, so I hope you enjoy it. Also, I may have to change the rating from T to M in chapter four due to adult content... NO, it's not sex! Cleanse your dirty, dirty mind with clorox brain bleach! But seriously though, It will probably be rated M after this. Just wanted to give a heads up.**

Hours later, I had finished up helping the supervisors find, disarm, and retrieve any pieces of simulated ordnance that had yet to be detonated. Looking at my watch, it was 11:40 pm, and I was dirty, tired, in pain due to both muscle exhaustion, walking and running all day, and getting hit a couple times during training, and fucking hungry… This is gonna be a recurring theme, isn't it? Food. Why? Because normal ponies need food. Which means troopers doubly need food, as they do a lot more marching, fighting, and are often under a lot more stress than the average pony, requiring food to keep the soldier active and happy. Happy troops = effective troops. Unhappy troops = ineffective troops. Reaching into my carryall bag, I pulled out an MRE and looked at the menu. Vegetable Ratatouille. Not my favorite, but it'll work. Using my bayonet knife, I cut open the package. I decided to eat the carbohydrates first, for the energy. Crackers and a peanut butter sandwich.

One of the supervisors, a grey haired orange unicorn walked over and sat down next to me. "New guy, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry. They only do that once or twice, then they stop and leave you 'lone."

"Great."

"Don't let it get you down. EOD does a lot more hazing than that."

"Really?"

"Why do you think I'm still here? They left me to make sure no one is left at the training area when we close this up."

"Oh crap sorry, I'll get going."

"No no no, no need. Eat, enjoy yourself. I mean, they took back all the prefab buildings, and the concrete ones are here to stay, thankfully. The last training area was such a waste."

"That so?"

"Yeah. I guess a Major had thought that we could use the Everfree forest as a training area, but the forest is too variable to use. One day, the training grounds were on the other side of a valley-slash-canyon formation, several kilometers away from where it was originally built. We had sappers tear it down."

"Wow. Everfree Forest seems pretty weird."

"Nothing's ever the same. In fact it's pretty dangerous. A patrol of Marines got attacked by a manticore. 7 of them were wounded."

"I'd figure we'd have HECU stationed at the base."

"We do. One squad of the 'Hazardous Environment Combat Unit' is in the 'Forest right now."

"Well, I thought you guys only had AAI."

"We have pretty much every MARSOC division. I'm Lance Corporal Concussion, by the way."

"Misriah. Good to meet you."

I finished my meal and stood up to leave, and Concussion stood up to leave with me. As we started to walk off, there was a loud _Boom_. Like an explosion, that seemed to come from the base, and then a smaller, softer explosion sounded off from our rear, probably several kilometers away. "The hell was that?!" I asked, shocked. Looking to the sky, I saw a yellow light arc across the sky, heading toward the base. It flew out of view, but we still heard the explosion. "That looked like a shell! Aimed at the Watchbase?"

"Are we under attack? Equestria's never been attacked in the past 40 years, at least!" Exclaimed Concussion, as another tracer fell. "That's artillery… And not even the actual shots…"

"What?"

"Wait 'till the spotter says 'fire for effect'."

Two more tracer shells landed, and then, a brief moment of silence. We both stood there, waiting for what's next. A couple of seconds past before several tracer shells flew across the night sky.

"Oh, shit," I whispered to myself as the rounds hit with a combined force strong enough for me to feel, and car alarms went off shortly after throughout ponyville. And that wasn't the end of it. Another salvo crashed into the ground, and another after that.

"Oh fucking hell," Said Concussion, as the barrage seemed to end. I was overcome with fear, my home had just been shelled. What if my friends were killed? Who's responsible? What should I do? I hope everyone's alright. We saw another shot streak through the air, before igniting a bright red glow that started to fall slowly to the ground. "Illumination flare,"

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"Could be a number of things… Maybe it's to help Battle Damage Assessment see if the targets been destroyed. Could signal the end of the firing mission. Or it might be a signal to begin an assault, more likely." The unicorn elaborated, narrowing his brows and crossing his arms, he looked pissed. "Turn on your radio, Misriah, see what the hell's going on."

I took out my old brick phone of a radio, and turned it on to my fireteam's frequency. "Mustang 1-2, this is Misriah, radio check!" I said into the radio, hoping to get a response. Due to the distance between me and the rest of the team, it was a bit harder to understand between the static.

"Fucking hell, Misriah! It's Corporal Crusade, where the hell are you?"

"I'm still at the training grounds, what the hell was that?"

"Some motherfucker just shelled the base's COMMs array! We have zero long range radio capability, the squad is currently readying up for com- * _pop, pop_ * Holy crap, taking fire!"

Concussion and I heard several shots of distant gunfire coming from multiple contacts, probably assaulting the base. And a moment later, we heard the rumble of an M60 machine gun in return, probably firing from a defensive position. "Damn it. Either way, Misriah, we're under attack and the base is boxed in, we have no assets out of here for a counter attack. Air Assault Infantry are being deployed to skirmish up the enemy assault and aircraft are being scrambled to give some heavy fire support. I'll update you as more information becomes available. Until we can get to you, remain undetected, stay where you are and keep your head down, Mustang 1-2 out!" Finished Righteous Crusade.

I looked over the the orange unicorn; "What if we take fire?"

"We got simunition, and smoke grenades, and if all else fail, the MATADOR on your back."

"What's simunition and smoke gonna do?"

"Put fire onto the enemy, but don't actually hit them. As long as they don't know we can't kill em, we can suppress them and use smoke to cover our retreat."

"Aye aye."

We waited for several minutes, distant rattle of gunfire and explosions the entire time. Until Crusade had decided to radio me again. "Misriah, be advised, Air Assault Infantry says that you have multiple contacts moving in from your direction. We suggest you move from your position into the town for better cover. How copy?"

"Solid copy, Oscar Mike," I responded, and signalled Concussion to follow, who brought along extra simunition for my M16 and his AK, as well as extra smoke grenades. Red smoke for marking enemies, green smoke to mark our location for when search and rescue comes, and white smoke and fog to give cover.

"Every round of simunition we have is a tracer for added intimidation," Concussion announced.

"Good. Let's move."

We walked at patrol pace in the direction of ponyville, heads on a swivel, looking for enemy contact. I wiped a drop of sweat off my forehead, and controlled my breathing, trying to keep calm. All feelings of fatigue had faded, replaced with alertness and urgency. I jumped at any unnatural sound, which meant I was flinching a lot due to the thirty minute firefight going on in the background. Eventually, Concussion tapped me on the shoulder; "Let me hold the rocket. You've been running all day. I have more energy," I gave him the launcher and we continued on our way.

We travelled for fifteen more minutes until we reached the edge of the town. "I know some friends we can seek shelter with," I told Concussion, who seemed happy to know we at least had part of a plan. The gunfire seemed closer now, and Concussion and I both suspected that the enemy was in the town with us. We advanced slowly and checked our corners, much like how we did during training today.

We later confirmed our suspicions as we tried to cross a road on the way. Peaking out to clear it, a chunk of splintered wood and chips was sent into my face from the wooden home in front of me with the crunch of biting an apple. "Jesus!" I yelled in fear, as I hear the snap of the supersonic round, followed by the sound of the gunshot. "Fucking hell."

"Did you get a good sight of him?" Asked Concussion.

I shake my head, wipe my face of any extra pieces of wood and start to peek out again. This time, the round kicked dirt behind me, and I spotted the muzzle flash of a rifle, about 300 meters down the road, second floor of a concrete apartment complex. "Sniper, 300 meters, second floor of a brown apartment complex, window all the way to the right," I informed Concussion, who took a quick look at the building, and looked back at me.

"Yeah, I see what you're talking about," He said, "What do you wanna do?"

I sit for a second, unsure of what action we should take. I looked through our inventory. Our gunfire can't kill the enemy, and we aren't gonna waste the MATADOR on a sniper. Then I got an idea. "You suppress the target while I cook a fog for airburst," I explained.

"The air bursted smoke should obscure his view for us to cross, let's give it a shot." Concussion agreed. I pulled out a fog grenade and had my finger on the pin. Concussion took his weapon off of safe and onto automatic, ready to go. Once we had everything set up, Concussion turned the corner, firing yellow tracers down range in 2-7 round bursts, I also turned the corner, as dirt kicked up behind us and I heard the snap of the round go barely over my shoulder. Pulling the pin, I cooked the fog for 3 seconds before tossing it upwards toward the enemy, and it exploded in an instant cloud of smoke in front of the enemy's view, hanging in midair.

"Crossing!" I called, sprinting across the road, finding cover safely on the other side. I then started putting rounds at the enemy's position, pinning him down long enough for Concussion to run over. As soon as my team mate managed to find cover, we left the enemy alone, as we couldn't really do much more about him. We took a small break to catch our breath, and I had an idea. I took my bayonet knife out from its sheath. "Got one of these?"

"Of course. It's standard issue," Replied Concussion.

"Put it on your rifle. It's the only real weapon we have that we can use on an enemy and win," I explained, and Concussion obeyed. Picking up my rifle, it was now a bit more front heavy, but I wasn't expecting to hit anypony with bullets anyway. I pulled up my radio to my face; "Misriah to Mustang 1-2."

"Mustang 1-2, send your traffic."

"We have hit contact inside the town, I repeat, contact is inside the town, how copy?"

"Solid copy. Keep your head down and find a defendable position, we're working on fighting our way to you, but these are slippery little bastards. They pop out and shoot at us, but then retreat once we return fire. These hit and run tactics are slowing us down, but we're making progress. Mustang 1-2, out."

Shortly after we heard the sound of rotors, and noticed a Marine helicopter flying through the sky, banking around to gun run an unseen target.

Moving on, we had found the library, the lights were on, but the curtains were closed. However, the library is really just a hollowed out tree, out in the middle of the field, out in the open. Scanning for hostiles, we didn't see anything, but we didn't want to take any chances. We popped white smoke and tossed them to cover our way to the door.

"Wait 'till it fills in," Ordered Concussion. Once the smoke grew thick, Concussion started the countdown. "Three… Two… One.. Go!" And we ran through the smoke, attracting no fire, but better safe than sorry.

We made it to the front door of the library, and Concussion covered me as I vigorously knocked on the door, screaming; "Twilight! Twilight! Open the door!" I waited a second, before again pounding on the door. "Twilight! Open the goddamn door! Open the door! Twilight!" I pleaded, "Please! Please open the door! C'mon, I don't wanna die here…"

"Is anypony even home?" Concussion asked, worried that we went all the way over here for nothing.

"I'm sure of it," I reassured the unicorn, who still had his rifle up, watching our six. "Twilight! It's Misriah! Please let us in!" And this time, the violet unicorn mare actually answered.

"I'm so sorry, Misriah, come in, hurry," Twilight hastily welcomed us in, and Concussion closed the door as fast as possible.

"Keep away from the windows!" Concussion ordered Twilight.

"Who is this?" Twilight asked.

"Lance Corporal Concussion, he's a Royal Marine," I explained. Concussion nodded at Twilight before walking closer.

"We gotta turn off all the lights in the house," Concussion suggested, and I agreed.

"Wait, what's going on out there?" Twilight inquired

"We're under attack by who the hell knows. Long range communications are gone, and it just so happens that Concussion and I got stuck with fake bullets and no actual way to defend ourselves, unless you count sharp sticks and knives," I explained.

"Excuse me, can I get some water?" Asked Concussion, and Twilight had quickly gone and brought back a cup. We all ran through the house, turning off every light we could find, before regrouping in the living room.

I sat down on the floor, trying to settle myself. Now that I had found shelter, I assessed the situation. Concussion and I are alive, Twilight's here, and currently there is a war zone outside. But, the Marines are making progress, they have started to bring the fight to the town, but it'd be a while until they reached us. "Where's your friends?" I asked.

"Most are probably at home with their doors locked," Twilight inferred.

"There's safety in numbers, we should rally them," I suggested.

"How many are there?" Asked Concussion.

"Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie," I said, before a sudden high pitched voice announced;

"I'm right here!"

Looking over, I spotted the pink mare, and my first thought was "Holy hell, how'd you get here?" but, I figured that she simply being here safe was good enough. "We should split the load. I'll get Applejack and Rarity. You should get Fluttershy and Dash," I suggested.

Concussion gulped down the rest of his water and answered; "Problem, I don't know who they are, or where they live."

Twilight brought out a map of ponyville and put it on the table. "Rainbow lives here, and Fluttershy lives here," She announced, labeling their positions on the map before handing it to Concussion.

"Where's Spike?" I asked, I had a mission for the dragon.

"Over here!" The dragon responded, running in my direction. I took out one white smoke, one white fog, one green smoke, and my ruger P99 sidearm pistol.

"Wanna join the Defense Forces?" I asked, and the dragon quickly nodded. "Alright. Your first mission is to protect these ladies, got that? If you get shot at or find anyone dangerous, you take the gun, point it in their general direction, and shoot. It can't kill, so try to scare them. Use the white smoke or fog to escape. Once you do, use the green smoke so we can find you. Oorah?"

"Oorah," Spike said, shakily and fearful, and I gave him the gun, smoke grenades, along with 2 extra magazines of ammunition. Twilight didn't seem comfortable with it, but didn't argue.

"Stack up," Ordered Concussion, and we got ready to leave the way we came. We breached the door and there were no contacts. We tossed smokes into the open to cover us as we moved back into the thick of town. "How much more white smoke you got?" Concussion asked.

"Two, just enough to cross this clearing again once I have the package."

"Alright. Breaking off now," Concussion said as he went in the direction toward Fluttershy's house. I left off towards the carousel boutique, to get Rarity. Peaking a corner, I noticed two figures shadows, and they didn't seem to be uniformed. I waited for them to pass before moving on. Danger close, I can't win any fight.

Using stealth, I moved forward, hiding nearby a bush as concealment. I finally spotted the boutique, and for some reason, it was also out in the open. Why the hell must their houses not have any cover from here to there? Damnit. I dropped into prone and started to low crawl my way there. Sliding my face over the ground, dirt, grass and mud, I crawled for well over six minutes, moving slow to avoid detection and hopefully not get shot. When I finally got there, I tapped on the door. "Rarity. Rarity it's Misriah. Open up," I asked. As the white unicorn opened the door, I quickly stepped in, closing the door behind me.

"Oh my god! What happened to you?" She asked, concerned for me.

I wiped the mud off my face, although my uniform was still covered in it. "I'm fine. Are you hurt?"

"No, but what are you doing here?"

"The base is under attack, but I was training when it happened. Twilight and Pinkie are safe, so my friend and I are gonna rescue the rest of you. Get your stuff ready."

Rarity packed herself some belongings, but I warned her to pack light. I just took the guess that she wasn't willing to drag herself on the ground like me, so I got out my only two red smoke grenades and got ready to hurl them across the opening. I kept my eyes open, the enemy has been dangerously close lately, and red smoke isn't the most subtlest of colors. The smoke filled in, and I got ready to move, but then I noticed small a flicker of movement about 250 meters away, that seemed to stop and face us.

"Get down!" I called, covering Rarity with my shoulder and forcefully shoving her into a wall as rounds snapped and cracked past, some sending concrete debris off the house. I set my rifle to burst fire and sent a stream of tracers down range, purposely hitting high to get the rounds to fly over the enemy, causing them to duck for cover. Taking the opportunity, I turned to Rarity; "How's your throwing arm?"

"What?"

"Ever tossed a soda can?"

"I don't follow."

Dust and debris exploded off the wall, and shots cracked past, causing me to hug the wall over Rarity, accidentally pushing myself against her breast. "Oh, um… Sorry," I said, quite embarrassed by my reaction. Getting a hold of myself, I fired more tracers at the enemy. "Can you toss a smoke grenade?"

"Um, I can try," Rarity responded, nervously.

"It's like throwing a baseball," I said, trying to be encouraging. Reloading my rifle, I handed her a fog grenade, "When you're ready, pull the pin and hurl it that way. Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing will happen to you."

The white unicorn took a deep breath in, and I noticed her hands were shaky. "You're gonna be okay. They won't dare shoot at you, I'll make sure of that. I'm ready when you are." I assured her, crouching down to be used as a pony shield if need be. When she finally nodded yes, she slowly walked up behind me, fingers holding delicately onto the fog. Right before we turned the corner, dust and smoke shot off from from our cover, causing her to scream and stagger back, and cousing me to hug the wall the best I could; "Shit!" I cursed out loud.

I looked at Rarity, who I noticed was crying, mascara streaming down her face with tears. I stepped forward, trying to soothe and calm her. "Hey, hey, please. They're not going to hurt you. See, I'm alive, and as long as I'm still around, no pony's going to hurt you. And trust me, no pony's is gonna kill me," I said, attempting to boost morale. "Whenever you're ready to try again," I said, setting myself up to suppress the enemy.

"Here, take my hand," I offered, which she accepted with a firm grip. "Alright on my count, ready?" Rarity answered with a nod. "One, two, three. Now!" And I raised my rifle with one hand, pressing the stock against my shoulder, and firing rapid bursts at the enemy, as Rarity threw a shaky fog grenade, that bursted into smoke. The red smoke had almost dissipated, but it was what we had to do with.

"C'mon, run!" I ordered, pulling Rarity's hand in tow as we sprinted through what remained of the red smoke, pouring a stream of tracers towards the enemy until my magazine was out of simunition. Finding cover across the clearing, I examined myself for any injuries. Head? Still on. Neck? Not slit. Torso? No holes in that. Legs? Not a scratch. Finding that I was fine, I examined Rarity; "You hurt?" I asked. She shook her head no, and my own investigation concluded the only damage was a wet mess of makeup on her face, nothing permanent. "See, what'd I tell you? You're fine."

I knew the enemy was probably flanking us right now, so I had to get us moving. We started to head south, towards Sweet Apple Acres. The road there was long, although we seemed to have a lucky break, as we didn't encounter any extra hostiles the whole time, but we still took it slow. Moving out of the main town, we walked our way to the apple orchards. Using bushes, shrubs, and trees, we moved from concealment to concealment, until both the barn and house was in sight.

We advanced closer, and got ready to move to the house. Sitting next to a shrub, I check 360 degrees around, looking for prying eyes and enemy combatants who may be looking to flank some marine element. However, my thoughts were interrupted by a young filly's scream, "Help!"

Looking at the house, a large, armed earth pony stallion was dragging a small earth pony filly toward the barn. I decided to clear the house first, because if anypony else was left, the gunpony might come back, and if there was one place I stood a chance at against an enemy, it was in CQC.

Rarity followed behind as we dashed to the front door of the house. I knocked on it, not wanting to yell and alert the gunpony. As the door opened, I was met with a fist to my face "Gah, dammit," I cursed to myself, staggering back and wiping blood from my cut bottom lip. Looking up, I saw a large, red stallion. "Royal Marine. I'm not here to hurt you. Please let us in," I asked, although the stallion didn't seem to trust me. I saw Applejack's emerald eyes peek over the stallions shoulder.

"Let 'em in, Big Mac," She said, and the stallion stepped aside. I walked in with Rarity, who instantly ran to give Applejack a hug.

"Oh my goodness you're alright!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Everything's not alright!" Applejack responded, with a mix of anger, sadness and worry. "That stallion took mah sister!"

I looked at her, and volunteered myself to help. "We saw an armed pony take a small filly into the barn," I informed her.

Applejack firmly gripped onto my tactical vest, sobbing, "Please, oh please help my 'lil sis! That's what you military stallions do, right?"

I looked her in the eyes, trying to be confident and reassuring, although to be honest I was freaking out, and said; "I fight to defend the country, it's princesses, and their subjects. I'll get your sister back," I promised, before looking around. "Do you have any weapons?"

The red stallion and applejack looked at each other, before the red one replied with a deep voice; "Daddy's old shotgun…"

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Eyyup."

"Do you train with it?"

"Nope."

"That'll have to do. My gun can't kill crap."

The country ponies looked at me kinda funny, and so I had to explain. "Look, it's been a long day, my gun is loaded with training ammunition, and I'm running out of those, just like I'm running out of everything else I have," They seemed content with the answer.

The stallion left to a separate room, then came back with a double barrel shotgun. "What's it loaded with?" I asked, and in response, the stallion tossed me a shell. Catching it, it was red in color, "ten gauge buckshot. Good stuff."

Big Mac and I left the house, and got ready to move into the barn. I knew the large stallion had no military training, so I would have to go in first. Opening one of the front double doors of the barn, I entered the compound. "Clear," I whispered as Mac walked in behind me. We cleared the entire bottom floor and began to move up the stairs. I was concerned that Big Mac's steps would cause the wooden boards to creek, but that was luckily not the case. Ready to open up onto the second floor, several thoughts ran threw my mind.

I wasn't sure if I was ready. Ready to face my enemy up close and personal. I wasn't sure if I was ready to kill. I didn't wanna kill anypony, but the enemy might just.

We moved closer up and stacked onto the door. Inside, I heard a small filly with a country accent plead; "Please don't kill me!"

I could feel the adrenaline starting, I was alert, angry even. This enemy had threatened my home. This enemy had threatened my friends. This enemy has prayed on civilian non-combatants and that makes him a terrorist. And if there's one thing I hate, it's terrorists. I won't stand for it! I knew that if I were to bust in there and live, I was going to have to use surprise, rapid application of force, and swift direct action to overwhelm the enemy.

I asses the door. It opens inward, so I should be able to kick it open. It's a wooden hollow core door, so it's weak spot is probably the frame. I place my hoof just below the doorknob, using it to get into position, judge my distance, just as I was taught during FISH (Fighting In Somepony's House) training. With my distance and position judged, I decided to use a sidekick to blast it down. A front kick might not provide enough force, and a back kick would require me to turn around and quickly engage my enemy, and I may not be agile enough for that.

I pull my leg up and ready the strongest kick I can, and throw it, bucking the door with as much power behind it I can put, right under the doorknob. The frame gives and the door busts open. Using the momentum from my kick, I rush into the room.

I spot the enemy operating a belt fed machine gun at a window. Sprinting towards him as fast as my hooves will carry me, the hostile tried to raise his weapon, but I used my rifle to throw his aim off, causing him to fire a burst into the roof. I pull my rifle down in front of my face, using my bayonet to slice open my opponent's hand and then hitting it with the stock of my rifle, causing him to drop his weapon with a _crack_. The hostile yelps in pain, but quickly grabs my head and starts pulling, wiping blood onto the back of my neck.

We scream at each other for a while, until I decide to drop my rifle to free my hands for combat, and throw him onto the ground. With my enemy stunned, I jump onto his torso to pin him, thrusting my knee as far into his gut as it will go. I start to throw punch after punch into his face, cutting and bruising it. His hands start to push on my face, but I am unrelenting. The enemy finally manages to flip me over, but I grab hold of his arms and torso. I noticed Big Mac raising his shotgun at the contact, but I scream; "Don't! You'll hit and kill me!"

With the enemy on top of me, I push him off my stomach and wrap my legs around his hips, cross grab his shirt, and pull him towards me and vice versa, headbutting his face with my kevlar helmet.

He went limp and slumped backwards, knocked out from the blow. I got up, leaving the pony unconscious on the floor. "Probably should have told him, but I mastered the Royal Marine Corps Martial Arts Program…" I commented, purely to try and make myself feel better, even though in the end I was exhausted and couldn't breath much due to my heavy gear.

I look around, and spot a young filly with red hair, and Big Mac seemed to be comforting her. I walked over. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, sir," The filly responded, wiping her face to look at me. "Thank you."

I picked up my rifle and looked out the window, at the battle that had been going for the past three hours. Just by looking, I could tell it was getting pretty ugly. There were fires, and I could see aircraft gun running targets, illumination flares being fired from mortars, and I could even glimpse a squadron of pegasi flying to cover.

Suddenly, I heard the deep voice of Big Mac; "Look out!"

I turned around, and the once asleep pony had gotten up, and was once again hostile. He slashed at me with a knife, aiming for my face, but I backed away, the blade a few inches from my muzzle. He slashed at me again, but this time, I ducked under it, delivering the stock of my rifle into his knee with a sound akin to the snap of a twig. He screamed in pain, and taking the opportunity, I circled around him so that his back was against the window, and aimed my rifle at him, hopefully intimidating him enough to surrender. It did not work. He charged with his knife in an attempt to stab me, and I could tell that he had intended to kill me. I used the barrel of my rifle to deflect his attack away from me, and buried my bayonet into his stomach.

With my enemy impaled, I pushed him onto the window. Screaming in agony, he tried to reach for my face. And then I snapped. It scared me. I lost control. And I know it doesn't seem to make sense, but I lost all rational thought. I switched my rifle from safe, to semi, to burst, and fired yellow tracers of simunition point blank into my enemy's torso, even though it did little more than bruise or break his skin, only causing him to scream more. Once the magazine was out of ammunition, I used my rifle to lift him out and over the window, and he fell from the second floor, landing with a sickening crunch.

I didn't look for a body. I didn't want too. I didn't even want him dead! I didn't wanna kill anypony! I walked towards Big Mac and the filly. "Thank you… You saved my life," I got no response, but I looked down at the filly, and said; "Some ponies want to make sure you're okay. C'mon."

Walking down stairs, the adrenaline wore off, and I was left fatigued. I knew if I had to fight like that again, I probably wasn't going to make it. I lead the way in front of the country ponies, my rifle raised, not that it would help much. Finally stepping outside, I looked down at the ground, and it was strange. There was a print of the pony's landing, there was blood, but the actual pony was gone. There were boot prints, but I couldn't tell how old they were. I had assumed some other contact had picked his friend up and withdrew, meaning that I actually didn't kill the pony. However that was little reassuring. I decided not to investigate further and return to the house.

I got Big Mac and the filly in first before entering myself. When I walked in I was greeted with a very firm hug and an unexpected kiss on the cheek. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" Said Applejack. I didn't want to say anything cheesy along the lines of 'was only doing my job' or something like that like that, but I also wanted to be humble, so I found myself at a loss of words. I kinda just stood there for a second before using my free hand to hug back.

Breaking from Applejack's embrace, I asked: "Are you okay?" Applejack replied that she was fine now, and introduced me to Big Macintosh and Applebloom. And checking up on Rarity, she was okay too.

"You are very brave, Misriah," Rarity commented.

"I had to make sure my friends are safe. And I was actually ready to shit myself… Pardon my vulgarity, but stress…"

"It's okay, sugar cube. You deserve a rest," Said Applejack.

"Eeyup," Added Big MacIntosh

"I can't do that just yet. Do you have a cellphone?" Rarity quickly lended me hers, and I scrolled through her contacts to find Twilight Sparkle. Upon finding her, I pushed the call button. The phone rung for a couple seconds before Twilight answered; "Hello?"

"Twilight, it's Misriah. Has Concussion come back yet?"

"Yes, and he's got Dash and Fluttershy."

"Great. However; I didn't know Applejack lived with family, and I can't bring a party this size back to the library."

"Alright. Concussion and I will work on a group teleportation spell, and we'll come to you."

"Great. Talk when you get here."

I hung up the phone, and announced that all our friends would be here soon, which was answered with joy. I then pulled out my hand held radio. "Misriah to Mustang 1-2, come in."

"Mustang 1-2, send your traffic."

"I've found cover and am hunkering down at the residence of Sweet Apple Acres. I have managed to find some civilians and am helping keep them safe, how copy?"

"Solid copy, Misriah. Ammunition is running low, so we're waiting on logistics to resupply before we continue our advance. Stay safe and keep your head down! We're gonna get to ya, kid! Mustang 1-2 out!"

I put my radio away, and sat down on the floor. I examined my messed up self. Uniform was ragged and worn, muddy, covered in dust, collar stained red, as well as the front lip of my helmet. I wiped my face. Applebloom walked up to me. "I'd like to say thanks again for saving me."

"That was no way to treat a young filly now, was it?" I said, trying to appear at least a little happy. Applebloom then handed me a red apple to munch on, which I gladly accepted. Applejack then walked over, and asked for what was happening. I was too tired for a thorough explanation, and answered; "War… war is happening. Some Marines will get to us by noon tomorrow."

A couple minutes later, there was a blinding light in the living room, and I walked in to find Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Concussion in the living room. However, something was wrong. Concussion's vest was stained red, and seemed to flow onto the floor. I quickly walked over. "Is this your blood?" I got a slight nod for an answer.

"Damn," I cursed, reaching into my carryall and getting out a first aid kit. I removed his vest and performed first aid to the best of my ability. "Good thing I took the Combat Lifesaver course," I commented.

Concussion looked at me funny. "You and and I both know that three hour course is what they teach high school JROTC cadets."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I was in JROTC and CLS, and they teach the same first aid, just CLS goes over it all in one day. I was just trying to be encouraging, smartass," I said as I put a bandage on top of his wound, using gauze to hold it in place. "What happened?"

"Lady got scared."

Looking at Fluttershy, I noticed her cheeks turn red with guilt and embarrassment, and Concussion seemed to notice as well. "But it's fine. I'd rather this than somepony else here get hurt. And it could be much worse," He added.

I take out my radio again; "Misriah to Mustang 1-2, over."

"Mustang 1-2, send your traffic."

"I have wounded, he's stable, but we're gonna need a corpspony."

"Roger that, Misriah. Keep him hydrated and comfortable, we're on our way, Mustang 1-2, out!"

I got Fluttershy to help me get him on a couch, and I reached into his kit bag and pulled out an emergency blanket and put it over him. "Get him some warm water."

Rainbow Dash left the room and came back extra quick with a cup. I handed it to Fluttershy. "Small sips."

Once we had done what we could for Concussion, I got all the ponies in the house into the living room. "We need to shut off all the lights, close all the windows, lock all the doors, everything. This place needs to be locked down," Nopony argued, and they all complied. Using a small candle as illumination, I gave my next orders. "It's four in the morning. I suggest you get all the sleep you can. Doubly so for you, Concussion. I'll keep watch until we get picked up by reinforcements. I would take shifts with you, but you're wounded."

"I ain't complaining," Concussion replied with a chuckle. All the ponies found semi comfortable space on the ground, except for Concussion, who got the couch. I sat down on a chair, and took inventory of what I had left. Two white smoke, two green smoke. One fog grenade, Spike has my sidearm, and he's asleep… And one full mag of tracer simunition. I could tell it was going to be a long night/morning. Looking at the sleeping group, I noticed a pony's emerald green eyes watching me. I pretended not to notice, I wouldn't want to keep anypony up by chatting, and continued to keep watch. However, eventually those eyes too, were shut.

 **AN: Oh, still here? Good! First blood has been drawn! I also wanted to note, I will be using the infamous StarGrunt II tabletop war game to simulate and base battles that will be in this story, so that I can keep as far away from hollywood tactics as possible. So many events that happen will be based upon actual events in my StarGrunt II games. Also, please review and pm! It really helps!**


	4. Chapter 4: Work hard

**A.N: So, I had to take a break due to a tragic event. I am back now, and working again. Also, this story will remain rated T for this chapter and the next. Read, review, pm, favorite, all those things. It really helps to know someone is watching.**

My eyes, bloodshot. My mouth, dry. My hands, numb. Pretty much every piece of my body was telling me that it wasn't feeling so good. I wiped my eyes, taking off crust that had been stuck there for who knows how long. I lifted my wrist to check my watch, however I couldn't make it out. It was some time in the afternoon, judging by how the sun had passed over my head.

Everything was odd, movement seemed fluid, yet fake, like CGI in a movie. I tried again to tell time with my watch, closing one eye and moving my wrist closer and farther away in an attempt to focus the image. 3:18 pm. I swallowed a yawn, as I knew I wouldn't stop once I started.

My eyes had been open for the next 2 minutes at least, however I dare not close them, for fear of passing out the moment I do. I take a swig of cold water, to wet my dry mouth.

I heard shuffling, and stood up in alarm. For what, I don't remember. I probably thought I was expecting another hostile at the time. Turning around to face the sound, I couldn't see, I was hit with a headrush, and my vision went dark for a second. When I finally could tell what I was looking at, I sat back down. "You really did stay up all night, Didn't ya?" I heard a country mare speak softly, and I nodded as an answer.

I heard the sound of keys unlocking a door, and I had stood up again. "Do you want a coffee?"

I shrugged. I wish that I could have replied; "I am currently unable to engage in intelligible conversation," however, that was exactly what was happening. I followed her into the room, and I was hit by the smell of hot, pre prepared coffee. I'll say it now, I'm more of a tea stallion than a coffee stallion, but beggars can't be choosers, and I was begging.

I was mostly using sound to tell what was happening, so I removed my helmet. I reserved vision for telling colors and distances, but even then, I couldn't be precise.

I heard the sound of liquids pouring into a cup, and then again. The gamboge mare seemed to get closer, and handed me a black coffee and offered me sugar and cream, but I rejected it. Taking a sip of the beverage, it was a little dry, but I needed some caffeine.

"Thanks," I managed to say, as Applejack sipped on her coffee. "You a big coffee drinker?"

"No, not really, but after last night…" Replied the gamboge mare.

"Yeah, well, neither am I," I said, and I normally would have chuckled, but my throat wouldn't permit it. Taking another sip, I put down my cup. I couldn't wait for its effects to actually get to me, however coffee moves at its own speed.

A floorboard creaked behind me, looking over my shoulder, I noticed it was Big MacIntosh. "Morning ponies, huh?" I inquired.

"Eyyup,"

The country ponies seemed to get ready to cook breakfast, although it was more like a late lunch or early dinner. I offered to help, but was mostly given menial tasks such as getting out tofu, pans and such.

"Well, what happens now?" Asked Applejack.

"What do you mean?"

"The fighting's done. What happens next?"

"The attackers would have retreated back into whatever hole they emerged from. Marines are probably consolidating, tending to the injured, fixing up the base, repairing our COMMs array, performing Battle Damage Assessment, combat analysis, and making a lot of phone calls," I responded.

"What about the rest of Equestria?"

"Finding out who has attacked us, why, where they are, devising strategies, mobilizing the entire EDF, forming the Militia. The country is getting ready to put a beat down on the enemy."

There was a moment of silence. "Or I would think so… I'm only a grunt so that stuff is a tad higher than my pay grade, and even then, we're isolated from the rest of the country until long range communications get back up."

I walked back into the living room, doing my best to avoid stepping on any pony. Luckily, my vision was starting to clear, just enough to tell one pony's outline from another. I managed to walk my way to Spike, and slowly, though clumsily, take my pistol back from him, although he could keep the smoke. I'd figure he might have a use for them.

I went back into the kitchen to finish off my coffee. "My day is all thrown off…" I commented.

The big red stallion looked at me; "We didn't have a day," he informed. It was true. It was almost four in the afternoon, and nothing was getting done.

"When Search and Rescue arrives, we can probably consider it safe enough for the rest of us to go home. So I won't see you for a day or two," I said.

"Why's that?" Applejack asked.

"Sleep, then work," I answered, because I have currently been awake for 36 hours and counting. I heard the shuffle of waking ponies. "Everypony's waking up."

Applejack followed me into the living room, and pretty much everypony was awake, except Rarity who was in the process of becoming fully waking up, and Concussion who was still solid in his sleep.

"Mornin' everypony," Applejack announced. "We have coffee ready, and breakfast is in the making,"

I went to greet everyone as they got up.

"Do you think it's safe?" Fluttershy asked.

"I think so, I mean, nothing unusual has happened for the past thirteen hours." I responded, and the yellow pegasus went into the kitchen.

I had noticed Pinkie Pie has been awfully quiet the past day and a half. I guess it was a new fear that none of us have ever actually faced before.

I began to realize that I wasn't going to have much time for friendships soon. I'm probably going to be sent off to fight, but not within the next 2-3 days, but that's not a lot of time. I decided to make the best of it. Once I am done with all of the stuff I need to get done, I'll take a 48 hour leave, at least 12 of those hours dedicated to hitting the rack, the rest put to having fun. If they'll let me.

"Hey, Dash," I said, as the pegasus was flying by.

"Oh, hey Misriah,"

"Doing okay?"

"Doing fine."

"Well that's good."

We paused for a second, and I took this moment to note; Dash and I don't talk much, but I am unsure if the cause is stress or the fact I dissed the Wonderbolts. Maybe a mix of both.

"Are you okay?" Asked Dash, and I must admit, I was unprepared for the question.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just sleep deprived, but only by a little," I answered.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Rainbow pointed at Concussion, sound asleep on the couch.

"He got hit hard, I am not the best at first aid, however, I think he'll be okay. He's one tough son of a bitch."

"Alright. If you say so," Rainbow Dash walked past me, presumably to get some coffee.

"Misriah," I heard my name called. Turning to see who it was, I recognized Twilight Sparkle.

"Yes, Twilight?"

"Thank you, for saving us. You really are a friend for doing what you did."

"What are friends for?"

"I usually don't expect my friends to run all through a battlefield armed with fake weaponry to secure all of us, but you did. And, while I prefer to refrain from such language, kinda makes you a badass," Twilight said, and I had to agree, it was pretty badass.

"Thanks, Twilight," I said, and the unicorn went to get coffee. To be honest, I fully expected a character such as Twilight to be a coffee drinker. I followed her back into the kitchen, and tofu bacon was ready. I have actually had real bacon before, pretty good, however the tofu version is a tad more healthy.

Getting some bread and lettuce, I made myself a sandwich.

"You're pretty good at making sandwiches," Commented Applejack.

"It's one of the few recipes I know, and the only one I have perfected," I chuckled in response.

"How does one become proficient in sandwich making?" Asked Twilight, in a semi-sarcastic manner.

"Years of experience, getting to know every taste of every ingredient, and then putting them together in just the right pattern," I joke, taking a bite of my sandwich. "Yes, for example, I am thinking that I should remove the lettuce, and sandwich the bacon in two buns of egg, and then sandwich the sandwich with bread…"

After finishing our meals, we waited. I knew any moment Marines would open up the door to come and pick us up. They had to. They couldn't expect me to try and move wounded, and I did report the wounded.

"So, guys, doing anything soon?" I asked the group, to see if they had anything planned.

"Well, I was going to suggest some sort of sport, like soccer or something like that, to play whenever we can all meet up again." Said Twilight Sparkle.

I was never really a sports person. I was never good at sports, no matter how hard I try. It also didn't help that every ball ever created seemed to have a GPS leading right to my face.

"It's better than anything I could come up with," I commented. "If you let me choose, we're gonna end up playing Warhammer 40k, or Dungeons and Dragons, maybe even games like Stratego or Risk, and I haven't even gotten into video gaming, so yeah, don't let me choose."

"Well, we could spar…" Rainbow Dash announced.

"At most, that'd be fun for three of us. And are you still trying to get me back?"

"Maybe…"

"Ya know what? Soccer, I second it!" I announced, trying to influence the group. And it worked, we were set to play soccer next time we all meet.

I decided to check on Concussion. Walking into the living room, I noticed he was a bit pale. I walked over, and was going to attempt to wake him up for breakfast.

"Hey, Concussion…" I said, but got no response. I put my hand onto his shoulder. Still nothing.

"Concussion, it's time to get up, just for a little, at least," I kept trying to rouse him, but nothing seemed to work. Placing my fingers on his neck to check for a pulse, I found there was none.

"Oh, hell no!" I called, angry that he would dare try to die on me.

"You will not die here!" The six other ponies walked in to see the commotion. Checking his wound, I now see that my bandage didn't hold very well, and blood had caused them to loosen.

I start performing CPR to try and bring back my friend from the grips of death, but all it seemed to do was hold onto him. Taking out my first aid kit, I looked at the drugs I had on me. Morphine? No, that'll kill him. Atropine? That raises his heartbeat, so it might work. Wait, no, Epinephrine treats this. "Fluttershy!" I called, and she flew in.

"He's in a cardiac arrest, administer epinephrine!" I ordered, as I went back to CPR. We did not go all this way for one of us to die here! I watched as Fluttershy injected the drug into my battle buddy. After about thirty seconds to a minute, I felt a heartbeat, and he started to breath again.

Concussion opened his eyes again, unaware of what had just happened. "Why do I feel like somepony had just nearly crushed my sternum and ribcage?"

I was kinda angry at the sarcastic remark, but I felt that might not help with the situation. So instead I grabbed his collar, leaned in real close to his face, and delivered a cheesy one liner; "Do not ever do that, ever, again."

I brought some hot oatmeal over to him, figuring it may be better if he didn't have to work much for his meal. He seemed a bit insulted by it, but didn't otherwise complain. Taking the bowl and spoon, he had downed it within five minutes.

Examining Concussion's wounds to find out exactly what happened, I couldn't give a clear explanation. Fluttershy or Twilight probably could have given a diagnosis had we more tools, but for now I told Concussion he had just lost a lot of blood, patched him up with more bandages and let him be. Sitting up, I noticed the couch had a splotch of red, stained, and, touching it, still damp.

"Did you hear that?" Concussion asked. Looking around, I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Hear what?"

Listening, I heard a voice shouting outside.

"That," Concussion confirmed. I stood up and put my helmet on, it was already too late for my plate carrier. Grabbing my rifle, I looked at Concussion, who had drew his P99 pistol.

"You got one too?"

"Yeah. Ya know they're getting replaced, right? By the P228."

I then thought; We can't move. Moving Concussion might hurt or even kill him. We have to fight, up close and personal. I moved to the front door, getting ready to attack the first one to move in, before I heard a voice shout "Clear the house and barn!"

I don't exactly know who our enemy was, but I doubt they worked like that. Looking through the peephole of the door, I spotted the tigerstripe uniform of Royal Marines.

"BluFor! BluFor! Friendly inside!" I screamed, telling them this house was clear and not to shoot us.

"Friendlies coming in!" The squad leader shouted back, before the squad opened the door.

"Corpspony, corpspony! We need a corpspony!" I asked, before finding a magenta unicorn with a red cross on her uniform and bringing her to Concussion.

"Anything else happen?" She asked, taking off her helmet to reveal a short navy blue mane, reaching only to neck level.

"Cardiac arrest not long ago."

"Not good," She responded, examining him. "Get a stretcher in here!" The Hospital pony ordered, and two Marines had brought in a stretcher and were soon laying concussion down in it.

The squad leader of the search and rescue team, some Sergeant, ordered me to get everyone hear to move out with us. "Get 'em into the technical outside and we'll bring up to the watchbase for immediate aid."

I did as I was ordered and soon, all 8 of us and the S&R team were rolling out back to the base.

As soon as we arrived, a team of medical ponies had took Concussion on his stretcher to the field hospital, and the rest of us were unloading off the truck. Looking around, the base was smoking and bits of it on fire, but it still resembled the base. The radio tower was noticeably missing, walls had chunks blown off them, bullet casing rolled on the floor, the air smelled of smoke and gunpowder, and there was the occasional patch of red on the floor. But at least I could still tell the barracks from the office building from the air tower. My friends and I were directed to the field hospital for a quick evaluation.

The Hospital pony washed my face of blood, and dirt and found no wounds, no broken bones, no physical injury. He then told me to check in with my squad lead. I asked him about my friends. He replied that all of them are experiencing high amounts of stress, nothing unusual. However, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and the accompanying members of the Apple family seem to be having unusually high amounts of it. When I explained the incident in the barn, he understood and concluded that everything is to be expected then.

Leaving the field hospital, I found Gunnery Sergeant Hartmane.

"Holy shit! Misriah! You're alive!" Announced the Gunny.

"Yes, Gunny. I made it!"

"How'd you do it?"

"Smoke, mirrors, and a lot of flashing lights."

The gunny didn't seem to understand, so I pulled a magazine out of my rifle and showed it to him. "Tracers? Simulated ammunition? You fought through the town using flashy paint rounds?"

"Yep."

"You're insane, but hell, if you can make it work!"

I explained to the Gunnery Sergeant what had happened throughout the night. However, he stopped me midway, and said: "You were acting independently in the field, so you have to submit an after action report."

"Aw, dammit. Really?"

"Aw yeah. I suggest you get on it. Ask for a paper in the office building."

I got myself the paperwork and went back into my barracks, which was luckily not destroyed and spent the next hour and a half filling it out. I found myself thinking for a moment when it came to lessons learned and recommendations for future reference. I decided to write:

One does not need to hit an enemy to gain fire superiority.

Tracers improve fire effectiveness by adding extra intimidation to each round.

The enemy is just as scared of death as we are.

CQC is still a common battlefield occurrence.

I recommend Marines increase priority on melee combat.

I recommend Marines are given two magazines of ammunition for their side arms, when on leave or off duty, for personal defense.

With that, I spent the next hour filling out a leave request form for 72 hours. I then submitted them simultaneously.

Waking up the next day, 9 in the morning, I had noticed that my mail had been delivered to me. Sifting through the only 2 letters I had received, I noticed that my leave request had been approved. I left my apartment in tan cargo pants and a black t shirt. I went to the field hospital to check on Concussion.

"He's stable. We're getting him ready for surgery, just with all our other wounded."

"How many wounded are there?" I asked.

"Sixteen Marines. An extra eight civilians were injured during the attack. To be honest, we're lucky there were no deaths at all."

"What about the enemy? Any casualties on their side?"

"It's not like I work in both sides hospitals…"

"I know, I know, but what've you heard?"

"No one seems to have gotten a good view on the enemy. They put fire on their positions, and aircraft hit compounds with 104 shells, but no official reports have confirmed any kills at all. However, it's unlikely they didn't receive injuries."

"I wonder where they're treating their wounded."

"Not at the local hospital, for sure. We're having a good number of our casualties moved there for the more advanced medical tools."

I walked out the base, my P99 in its holster, and two extra mags of ammunition. This time, real. Looking at the town, it seemed to be in similar shape as the base. Bullet holes, craters, some small fires, however still recognizable. I stopped for a second and realized. "What the hell am I doing here?" They gave me my leave because they read my report and decided that I may have earned it. However it's not like I can do much here. All the stores are shut down. People are reconciling. There is no activity here worth doing. A Search and Rescue truck drove past, looking for civilians and lost troops in need of help. I did a total 180, turning heel to jog my way back to the base.

Upon arrival, I put myself to work, helping with repairs and carrying supplies from one area to another, doing my best to get us up and running again. It was slow, however I liked to feel that every bit helped. It may just be that I am a little over patriotic, but this base needs to be ready for when the rats come back. Rats. The name that Marines had given our current unknown enemy, due to that they would engage us with gunfire, but run back to their holes as soon as we managed to retaliate.

"At this rate, communications should be up by end of week!" Announced my repair team leader.

"Oorah!" Was the team's general response.

We started to fill in bullet holes and repair chunks of concrete walls. The walls were stable without repair, but a damaged and beaten wall is ugly and has a demoralizing effect on troops, so we got to work on repairing them.

"Misriah!" I heard a Marine yell. Standing up and putting down my tools, I turned to see who called me. I spotted a yellow earth pony wearing a eight point utility cap in a UAZ 469.

"Yes, sir?" I answered, running towards the Marine.

"This one wanted to see ya. Said she's a friend of yours," The Marine answered, and the familiar emerald eyed gamboge pony leaned forward, giving a little wave.

"Oh hi, Applejack," I responded as the mare got out of the car. The Marine then drove off, presumably to continue his duties.

"Howdy, Misriah. Doing good?"

"Working hard on hard work."

"That's fine," Applejack looked me in the eye, which wasn't hard due to that we're about the same size. She might actually be slightly taller.

"So, what're you doing here?" I asked, curious to the reason of her appearance.

"Well, at first I wanted to see ya, but then I was told you volunteered to help out here. And so I decided I'd help you," She responded.

"Sure. I mean, I'm sure no one would object. We need all the help we can get. Let's get you a hard hat," I said, as we walked to go get Applejack protective wear.

"Thanks again," Commented Applejack.

"It was the right thing to do. Besides, anything to look good in front of ladies," I chuckled, jokingly, although Applejack seemed a little more embarrassed than humored. "Sorry, bad joke?"

"Oh, no not at all,"

We eventually managed to get Applejack a hard hat, and I let her drop off her stetson at my barracks. Walking back, we got to work.

"Damn, Misriah, you don't deserve that!" One of the repair crew commented, referring to applejack.

"Huh? Wait! It's not like…" I stuttered, but was met with overall laughter coming from the repair team. Looking over at Applejack, she didn't seem to notice or care, and continued to work. "Very funny, guys…"

I worked for my entire leave. And each day, Applejack would come to help. Each day she'd arrive earlier than the last. I was glad for the help. I continued working after the leave, and so did she. They eventually even let her keep the hard hat. We socialized while working, helped each other when needed. I think that eventually the repair crews began to see that we made a decent team.

"Got it?" I shouted upwards toward Applejack.

"Got it!" She hollered back, finishing up the job and climbing down from the heights.

"Alright. Let's tell the electrical team it's finally ready," I said, as we walked towards a team of ponies working on a circuit box.

"Radio tower's done, and WiFi is ready. Just gotta turn it on," I reported to the technician sergeant.

"Great. Lets get to work, guys. Communications is priority one!" Ordered the team leader to the other technicians.

"I believe that's it for today," I told Applejack.

"Alrighty then. Wanna stay for dinner this time?" Applejack offered, and I found it very difficult to turn it down. Naturally, I accepted, and we walked out the base.

Arriving at Applejack's house, I had noticed a pony who wasn't here before. An elderly pony, who seemed friendly enough.

"Misriah, Granny Smith," Applejack introduced us.

"So you're the pony Applejack's been talking about!" Granny Smith announced, much to Applejack's dismay.

"I guess so, I mean, I wasn't here to hear all the talking, but, sure?" I replied, however I only got a chuckle from the old mare.

Big Mac then came into the room, bringing dinner with him. It looked like apple salad and applesauce. It's a bit light, but fine enough.

"Food! I am hungry!" Exclaimed Applebloom as she sat down at the table. She noticed me; "Oh! It's you!"

"Hello. How's it going?" I asked the filly.

"Good! Big Mac and I've been helpin' the townsfolk with whatever they need, such as food, repairin' shelters, and such."

"That's great. Glad you're doing well."

"So, Mr. Misriah. What is your current occupation?" Asked Granny Smith.

"He's a soldier!" Applebloom quickly exclaimed.

"Actually, he's a Marine," Applejack corrected.

"Yeah. I just do whatever work needs to be done at the time," I explained, scratching the back of my head.

"Sounds dangerous."

"It can be."

"What's it like?"

I thought for a second before responding;

"It sucks." And I was met with very surprised faces.

"Every squad hazes the new guy. We have to work in some of the worst conditions possible. We don't have any rights, or unions. We have to always do the hard stuff. The food is tasteless. We often have very dangerous jobs, and on top of that, I don't even get paid well." I explained, and that seemed to hold their expressions.

"But I love it. It builds character. Develops the body and strengthens the mind. It teaches discipline. I've met friends who I know will look out for me, and I'll look out for them. We protect ponies. We fight off baddies. It's what I've always wanted to do, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon."

The shocked faces turned to smiles, as they seemed to admire my pride, at least to some extent. After we finished our meals, Big Mac got up and ready to leave.

"Where ya goin'?" Granny Smith asked the large red stallion.

"Mayor Mare needs help setting a tree back up."

"A tree?" Exclaimed the young filly with suspicion.

"An explosion or accident nearly destroyed the old one, so the Mayor wants it replaced."

I took a second to finish my meal before standing; "I'll help if you need." I volunteered myself.

He didn't seem to complain, and Applejack seemed to tail us on our way out.

"Applejack, where you going?" Applebloom asked.

"I've been helping for the past week. I think I can work another hour."

We drove our way to the front of the town center in a red truck, where we noticed a tree that was torn, shredded, and bent out of place. Further examination did show pieces of brass and metal lodged into the bark, and a small crater behind the tree. Other trees seemed to be destroyed, but they were already replaced.

"Yep. Stray artillery shell, or rocket of some kind. Looks like High Explosive," I investigated.

"Is it safe to handle?" Applejack asked.

"Totally. Just be careful not to cut yourself on a piece of shrapnel," I responded. "The real question is how to get it out here. I'm thinking we either hack it down or dig it up."

"Digging it up is probably safer," Inferred Macintosh.

"But that's slow," I responded.

"Cutting it up will probably be faster," Applejack explained.

"But that could dangerous, and then we'd have to pick up all the wood chips and dig up the roots anyway." I answered.

"Then why did you even ask for our opinion?" Applejack said in an annoyed tone.

"Fun"

Applejack gave me a playful punch to my shoulder. We retrieved shovels from our tool kit, and started to dig up the roots of the tree. It was going well, getting all but 2 roots out of the ground. We decided to try and take out the stump of the tree and drag the roots out, however it wouldn't budge. Even the almighty Big Macintosh could not get the tree out of it's hole.

"I got this!" Applejack said, stepping back.

"What're you planning?" I asked, and in response, she lifted one leg and planted it firmly near the base of the tree. She then put both her hands on the floor, back facing the tree. I found it to be an odd position; something from yoga maybe? She then lifted both legs and kicked the tree with both legs, causing a satisfying crunch, and it bent backwards, loosening the base enough for Big Mac to remove the rest of the tree. I used my knife to cut any remaining stubborn roots and we pulled the tree off to the side.

"That's one hell of a kick." I commented. "Some damn fine legs."

"Years of apple bucking makes for great kicks."

We went to get the new tree through the bed of a truck. I climbed into the bed and started feeding the trunk to Big Mac. Attempting to lift it for a second, I found it to be made of iron or something, really, _really_ , heavy.

"Watch yourself. It has some mass this one."I warned, and no less than 4 seconds later, the tree suddenly shifted forward with a crunch, causing a deep low toned groan. "Dammit, not another one!" I called, jumping off the truck and attempting to push the tree to the side. However it wouldn't budge before Applejack gave some assistance.

"You alright Big Mac?" Applejack rushed to her brother's aid.

"N-nope." The red stallion responded, grabbing his knee in agony. It was discolored and misshapen, probably broken.

"Let's get you to the hospital." I recommended, putting the stallions arm over my shoulders I loaded him into the bed of our truck and sat down with him. Applejack drove us to the hospital.

The nurse there had said that his knee was bruised and shattered, but he was expected to make a full recovery. However, he wouldn't be able to work for the next month at least.

"That complicates things…" I commented.

"What?" Applejack questioned me.

"Well, in the context of now, it will be very difficult to move that tree."

"What about in the context of then?"

"We should talk about then when then becomes now."

She didn't seem very happy about my answer, but didn't question further.

"Macintosh will be staying the night with us." The nurse reported.

We drove back to where we left the tree. We were really unsure about how we would lift it. Applejack then suggested that we roll it into place first, then we could try and lift it straight. It was worth a shot, and it worked, thankfully. We packed in dirt to hold the tree in place and finished the job.

"You're really strong." I commented to Applejack in the car.

"You're no slouch either."

"Hey, uh, look. Tomorrow my squad has evening guard duty, so there won't be any work for us to do."

"Oh, okay. When can we talk again? Or work?"

"Day after probably."

"Alrighty then…"

The mare was not pleased by my answer. She dropped me off at the front gate of the watchbase.

"See you later, Applejack!" I waved goodbye as she drove off.

Walking towards the entrance if the base, a searchlight focused on me and watched as I walked forward. I expected nothing less, we were just attacked afterall.

 **A.N: This is one of the shorter chapters, but I feel like bleeding chapter 5 into this one would cause some problems, and would move away from the purpose of this chapter; building the Misriah-Applejack relationship. I hope I'm doing it right. Either way, review, pm, fav, it helps so much!**


	5. Chapter 5: Elements

**A.N: Yes, there is more. And I am maintaining the T rating for an extra chapter. There will always be more until I say that the story is over, and even then, I will probably working on a sequel. Just know that I post these chapters as they come, they are not pre written and I am not just dividing the story into chapters to space out my story, but really because the future chapters are not done yet. With that, chapters may be far and few in between. In the meantime, read, review, favorite, follow, all of that. Really helps.**

11:02, Watchbase Everfree, Ponyville, Equestria

"What the hell is going on?" I asked Corporal Crusade as another T 72 tank drove by. They had ERDL woodland camouflage, and "25th" printed on the side of their turrets, but no other markings.

"Defense Forces Army has been rolling in all day. 25th Infantry and Armored Divisions. They've already started up tent city. A lot of brown water navy and seabees have been showing as well. Hell, I've heard Royal Air Force is on it's way too." Righteous Crusade explained.

"MATADOR is so damn heavy. Why can't we use LAWs?" I complained, shifting the rocket from one shoulder to another.

"You can. Was wondering why you haven't switched out yet."" Crusade chuckled. "Let's get moving, brief starts in an hour."

We walked past a squad of soldiers wearing woodland ERDL, olive green flak jackets, and wielding the Army's rifle of choice: the M16A2. "Something big's up, I swear." I commented.

"Yeah, why else would the entire Equestrian Defense Forces flock all over here. Sky patrols are everywhere, hell, even Air Assault Infantry is working."

We had arrived just in time for the briefing. The Corporal and I sat down next to our fire team. Looking forward, a white with a black mane circled the north, south and western openings to the base on a map. "Mustang 1-1 will get the Northern Gate, 1-2 Southern, and 1-3 Western. Each fireteam has a UAZ in case they need to relocate, for example, to bring the Anti-Tank Missileman from South to North." The Major explained.

I pulled out my notebook and began to take notes on the operation. "You will also be given the radio frequency of the company mortar section as fire support, and ground casualty evac."

The Major was interrupted by a unicorn in Mustang 1-1. "Sir, why all the heavy weaponry and medical? We're just watching gates."

"You are the first line of defense for this base. I will ensure you're equipped to hold off an enemy advance until the base can respond."

"Yes, sir."

The Major paused for a second, trying to pick up where he went off. "Expect EDF to be moving in constantly, Army 25th Infantry and Armored, Navy 10/3rd, and Air Force 8th. If some other outfit arrives, report it to be cleared. Any questions?"

"No sir!"

"You may relieve the current guards of duty and take your posts. Dismissed."

"Oorah!"

"Fireteams with their leaders. Report in when you reach your posts." Gunny ordered, and Corporal Crusade and 1-3's fire team lead gave an affirmative reply.

Ocean Breeze, Shadow Vermillion, Colt Force, and I all got in the car, waiting on our team lead. Buckling up, Crusade ignited the engine. "Where should we position ourselves?"

I brought out a map of the base, and folded it to focus on our gate. "Force should be on a tower."

"Well that's a given, he's the Automatic Rifleman after all." Lance Corporal Shadow scoffed.

"Right. And you should be on the other tower. If we get attacked you can glide down and get the enemy from above, or even fly high and get the enemy position for mortars." I suggested.

"Sounds good." The Corporal agreed.

"And Misriah and I will take ground level while the team leader keeps radio tabs." Breeze explained.

"Solid to me." Force announced.

Upon arriving at our gate, Vermillion flew up to his tower, and Force climbed the ladder into his. Breeze walked out to right behind the gate, and Crusade went into the security room to check in with the others. "Mustang 1-2 to Mustang 1, radio check?"

"Mustang 1-3 to Mustang 1-2, good check, over."

"Mustang 1-1 to mustang 1, good checks all around."

Crusade put the radio up to his face to speak again. "Roger. Mustang 1-2 is in position. How copy?"

"Solid copy, Mustang 1-2. 1-3 is in position."

"Copy that, 1-1 in position. Be advised, Fire Support frequency is Channel 1 102.7. Medical is 101.5. How copy?"

"Solid Copy. Mustang 1-2 commencing operation, over and out." Righteous Crusade put the radio down and picked up his rifle.

Breeze took position at the right side of the road, and I stood at the left. For the first 10 minutes, nothing. Another 10, nope. This has to be one of the most boring jobs possible. But, at least I have real bullets. Finally, a convoy of woodland M113 APCs drove up to the gate. Breeze hailed them and a lieutenant exited the vehicle.

"Identification of you, your outfit, and everyone in it, sir." Breeze ordered the Army officer, who handed over some papers.

"25th Mechanized Infantry. 6th Rifle platoon."

Breeze went through through the papers then handed them back. "Checks out! Let 'em in!" He hollered, prompting Crusade to open the gate.

The cycle continued. We'd wait for what seemed like hours, for some military convoy to drive up, and we'd let them in after checking their papers.

"Hey, Misriah." Breeze got my attention. "Do you know what the Rats look like?"

I shifted my weight for a second before answering. "I didn't take the time to spot any discernable markings."

"Neither did we. All we know is that they were ponies. Not sure if they have a uniform or anything."

I sighed. It was unusually hot today. Celestia is probably pissed. "Why do you think all the Defense Forces are coming here?" I asked.

The Navy Blue unicorn looked toward the road. "I'd normally say the Army is just coming to set up the Ponyville Militia. But, the other branches arrival doesn't make much sense. They're probably here to use the base as a staging area for an operation."

We fell silent. Another infantry and tank platoon arrived through our gate, but it was otherwise uneventful. I looked at Pfc. Force, and then at LCpl. Vermillion. They seemed alert, but the automatic rifleman was obviously bored, letting out a yawn. Shadow Vermillion flew out of his tower, only to sit down on top of it. "Corporal!" He shouted. "Car! On the road, moving fast!"

Looking to the road, I spotted a nice silver DeLorean driving down the road, going way over the speed limit. I saw lights start, signalling the car to slow down, but to no avail. The car maintained its speed. Not even speed bumps deterred it or slowed it down. I switched my rifle from safe to semi. "It's unmanned! Unmanned!" Vermillion called.

Righteous Crusade ran out of his security housing with his rifle. "Light it up!" He ordered, lifting his rifle.

"Engaging!" Force called, firing his M60 machine gun onto the car. The entire squad poured rounds into the target, peppering it's hud, but it would not stop.

"Colt, get its tires!" Crusade ordered, causing the gunner to adjust his aim and fire a quick 5 round burst. The tire popped and the car swerved a bit, but regained its course. "Misriah! AT that bitch!"

I pulled the MATADOR over my shoulder and dropped to a crouch position ready it to fire.

"Back blast clear!" I called

"Clear!"

"Firing!"

The rocket was launched with a thump, and the missile zoomed towards the car. It impacted right on its hud, causing an unusually large explosion, sending the car into a huge inferno and splattering flames all over the ground. I tossed the disposable launcher onto the ground as Crusade ran back into his station.

"Mustang 1-2 to mustang 1-1, come in!"

"Mustang 1-1, send your traffic."

"We have just engaged a hostile unmanned vehicle, we suspect Rat attack. Need damage control!"

"Affirmative. Reporting event to higher ups. Damage control in five mikes."

"Copy that, out!"

Our fire team kept on a lookout for any more contacts beyond the wreckage. Soon, fire trucks had showed up with Marines using fire extinguishers, as well as hospital ponies.

"Are you hurt?" Asked a medical pony. I told them we're fine. They battled the fire for a solid six minutes before they put it out. The damage control squad leader walked up to Corporal Righteous Crusade.

"The car was way over gassed and we suspect the trunk was filled with military grade explosives. We found evidence that it was being remotely controlled." The sergeant reported.

Crusade crossed his arms. "They were gonna drive it right into the base then detonate it. I'd hit the Army's tent city. That'd cause a lot of casualties."

"Either way, we're gonna reroute all incoming friendly and civilian traffic away from this gate. Any further contact is hostile." The sergeant put a cigarette into his mouth.

"Yes, Sergeant."

Damage control left the area, leaving us alone to guard once again. No more traffic came. The enemy seemed to not want to try again. Neither would I, DeLoreans are expensive cars. To see one wasted like that is kinda saddening. Breeze used his magic to move a cloud over our post, blocking some of the heat. "You sure you should be doing that?" Force called out.

"I doubt anyone would mind." Breeze responded.

Waiting. The one thing people don't tell you about the military: it involves a lot of waiting. I got a closer look at the DeLorean. It looked brand new, but the license plate was torn off.

We stood silent. Not because we were focused. Not because of adrenaline. It wasn't silent because we were waiting. I knew why. We were silent because we were scared. We had used our one anti-tank weapon. If the enemy tried again, we'd have no way to stop it. This state of fear kept us silent. Waiting, hoping our fears are wrong.

"Maybe with this war and all, we'll finally get a hold of the Army's M16s." Force inquired, loud enough for the team to hear.

"I doubt it. AK 74 is better for our mission." Vermillion explained.

"Really? I mean the M16s are newer, have better accuracy and range. The only reason we don't get them is 'cause they're expensive." Colt questioned, prompting me to look over at him.

"M16s have better accuracy and range, yes, but no, your AK 74, made in 1974, is actually newer than the army's M16 model, the A2, made in 1969. And those things aren't reliable at all." I announced.

Colt eyed me from his tower suspiciously. "Didn't know you were a bookworm. But you have an M16, hasn't died on you yet."

"I'm not a bookworm, I just really like guns. And my M16 is the newest, A4 model. It's built more reliable than their old A2s. And even then, I wash, scrub, and polish it everyday to make sure it doesn't jam." I retort.

"So we teach Marines how to take care of it, problem solved."

"The A4 model means only one thing, you only have scrub it once a day instead of three. And even then, if this gets buried in dust, sand or mud, it most likely will not shoot. Compare the AK, one of the most reliable platforms in the world that will shoot no matter what, and still performs well in accuracy and range categories. And in Marine type missions, reliability is key." I said, and Force rolled his eyes at me, but didn't argue back. We returned back to ready positions.

"Contact!" Called Force from his tower.

"Where?"

"200 degrees, on the hill!"

I turned to the southwest, and saw a group of small figures, moving their way down hill. "I'm engaging!" Force reported, and fired a burst of 3, then 5 rounds at the group. The figures retreated back from the hillcrest, away from the gunfire. "C'mon, show your face…"

A small object was tossed over the crest of the hill. At first, we didn't know what it was, so I took out my binoculars for a better look. Smoke. It was green smoke seeping out from a grenade. "Blue on blue!" I called. "We're firing on friendlies!" I pulled the pin on my own green smoke grenade and tossed it to the side of the road.

The team of Marines moved back down the hill in a staggered column formation. Upon moving closer, I spotted the grey and black tigerstripe camouflage pattern belonging to HECU Special Operations. "Motherfuckers! What the hell!" A HECU Marine cursed as he walked by.

"Sorry guys. We were told every contact from this direction was hostile." Righteous Crusade tried to explain. However, the HECU squad leader responded in a nasty tone.

"Identify your goddamn contact, jackass!"

The HECU team entered the base, not saying another word.

"Dammit." Crusade cursed to himself.

"At least no one got hurt." Breeze commented.

Several hours had passed before the next guard team came to relieve us. Crusade dismissed us, and walked off, cursing; "I have to write a report."

Righteous had forgotten to return the UAZ, however, the rest of the fire team and I decided to cut him some slack, and do it for him. Shadow Vermillion had volunteered to drive, and Force called shotgun, leaving Breeze and I in the back. "Crusade seemed pissed." Force commented as Shadow started the engine.

"The Corporal is just stressed, guys. He'll be fine." Vermillion reassured the team.

Turning in the car, the rest of the team separated. Vermillion went to his barracks without explanation. Ocean Breeze went to the mess hall and Force had to "practice cleaning my weapon". It was already 8 o'clock at night, so I figured I'd restock on ammunition and pick up a LAW to replace the used MATADOR.

On my way there, I passed the northern entrance where something odd happened. I saw a group of M113 APCs driving in, but they weren't normal APCs. They were painted white, with a blue stripe painted vertically down its center. I decided to get a closer look. As I walked closer, the APC convoy drove down the road. Tailing them wasn't hard, as the base had responded to todays "incident" by setting up swerves, turns, and roadblocks, forcing vehicles to drive slow, or risk crashing. They drove all the way to the newly expanded airfield, and parked. "What's going on here?" I whispered to myself, standing at the airfield entrance. The hatches of the APCs opened, and four squads of ponies quickly disembarked and made a complete circle around the vehicles, weapons at the ready. Some were in white battle dress uniforms, others in gray. But they all wore a tan helmet with a blue stripe running down it vertically, tan flak jacket armor, a blue star patch on their shoulders, and they all covered their faces with masks. I stepped a little closer, acting like I worked inside the hangars to avoid looking suspicious. Looking at their weaponry, I noticed that they were using Micro Tavor MTAR x95s, much more expensive than anything anypony else here was using.

"Royal Guard?" I spoke to myself. Why the hell are the Princesses Finest here? I found a spot to sit and watch, just outside a hangar, leaning on it's door.

The Guard were taking their time observing the area, probably remembering every single rock they see. Possibly every blade of grass even. I noticed 3 Guardsponies gathering around a map, one of which I recognized as a captain with his royal purple helmet. They seemed to be carrying out an operation, or at least preparing for one.

The Royal Guard are the most prestigious of troops that Equestria can offer. They are the Princess's personal body guards and the elite of the elite of soldiers. Akin to Storm Troopers from Star Wars, or Space Marines and Kasrkin of Warhammer. With a vicious selection cycle and rigorous training, only the best from the Guard Academy of Canterlot get to be in the Royal Guard. And only the best troopers get the opportunity to be sent there for a chance.

Of course, despite their prestige, I'm still content being a Marine. While they are the best troops we have, they fill a different purpose than what I want. I noticed the two lieutenants walk away from the captain, giving orders to their troops, and in response, 2 squads loaded up in their APCs and drove off. The other 2 squads seemed to be listening to their officers briefing.

I watched for an extra five minutes, sitting their on the hangar door. I wondered where the other APCs drove off to. Then, movement caught my eye. Turning my head for less than a second, a metal grip swung under my chin, curving upwards to land in the combat gloves of what I noticed to be a Royal Guard, who then hoisted me into a position that looked like sitting on air, using what I realized to be a garrote wire, strung around my neck. A second guard walked up behind him. "That was sloppy," He commented, in a soft but gravely voice.

The first guard turned his head towards him. "Agreed, not my best work." He said in a very similar voice.

I swallowed hard as the guardspony switched hands of the garrote wire, meaning all he had to do was pull and my head would come rolling off. "Who are you?" One of them asked, but at this point I couldn't tell who. Looking up at the Guard, I took note that their face masks wrapped around their neck as well, noticeably tight, probably causing them to speak the way they do as a sort of voice changer. The guard started to pull on the wire.

"Private Misriah, 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines, Equestrian Defense Forces, Royal Marine Corps!" I pleaded for my life, looking into the guard's blue tinted combat goggles. He let one hand off the wire and took it off my neck with a flick of his wrist.

"Come with us." He ordered, and I obeyed.

The two guards walked me, holding onto my collar with their carbines at my back. "Captain!" One of them called, getting the purple helmet to swing in our direction. "Found him." They tossed me onto my knees in front of the officer, who looked down at me.

"On your feet, Marine." The captain ordered, and knowing not to mess with these guys, I stood up and gave a salute, which was returned, giving me the benefit of the doubt that they'll kill me. "Misriah?" He asked.

"Y-yes, Sir."

He turned to another guard behind him. "Sergeant, get the papers."

"Right away, Sir."

He looked back at me. "Well, Misriah. Your feats seem to have caught Celestia's eye. You're a lucky pony indeed."

I was confused, "Excuse me, Sir?"

"Just listen, Marine. Celestia has given you your first personal assignment. A simple courier mission, but that's more than most get. How you go about it and completing the task is up to you, and I have been ordered to supply you with three of my guards, and a single Armored Personnel Carrier."

The Sergeant had returned with a unmarked manilla folder with a stack of papers, and handed them to the captain.

"Sir, that's a lot of equipment for a courier mission."

"Even small and simple missions are imperative, Marine. And you need the APC." The captain explained, handing me the folder. "They're ready to go when you are. Study the packet tonight, roll out tommorow, Marine."

I gave a salute, which was again, quickly returned. "Dismissed" The captain went back to conversing with his lieutenants. I walked away, kinda shocked at what just happened. They had noticed me, despite my best efforts to not be noticed. I mean, I'm no stealth expert, but they noticed me, and then managed to distract me, so that I wouldn't notice the guards sneaking up on me. And that was sloppy?

I opened the folder, and first thing I noticed was the unusual briefing. Personal Operation from the princess alright. But the overall basis was "Load up the following six ponies: Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack". I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. What the hell would the princess want with them. I continued to read. "Arrive and disembark at north end of airfield in the designated APC, tomorrow, 1805". Oddly specific. Something big must be up. Looking behind the briefing, there was a personal letter from Celestia. I took the letter, written in very neat cursive, with a very fine pen.

"To loyal subject and Royal Marine, Misriah.

This is probably unusual to you, to be receiving a mission from this high up in the chain of command, yet that mission be so simple, maybe even below you. However, it is very important to the war effort. And the real reason I have chosen you, is that these Very Important Ponies, at least in their recent writings to me, have taken a liking to you. They imply that they have befriended you, and you befriended them. And thus, I have declared that you are the most qualified pony for the job. Good luck and best wishes,

-Princess Celestia"

Holy crap, that leaves me with a lot more questions than answers! What relation does my friends have with the princess? Why does the princess need my friends? How did they get their VIP status? And, does that make me a VIP? What? No! Just because you know so-and-so doesn't make you a VIP! But that's off topic. Turning over the note, the Princess writes further.

"P.S, the times here are SHARP. Please arrive at the EXACT times stated. The speed of your vehicle has been listed, and included is the latest road map labeled with the speed limits of ponyville's roads. Math will have to be done to get the right calculations, but, I have also given you a scientific calculator to help, just in case :)

-Princess Celestia"

Well, damn, but, thanks? I guess. However, the map doesn't take into account that we obstructed the our bases roads. How long does it take to cruise through our base? Only one way to find out, ask those who've been doing it all day. But that meant going to see an Army M113 crew pony.

I walked over to the Army tent city, which looked exactly like its namesake. Tents, as far as the eye can see. I made my way to the front gate, where a soldier is on guard. "Can I see your I.D?" The soldier asked. I took out my wallet and handed him my card.

"Private, what business do you have here?" The soldier handed back my card.

"I need to see an APC crew pony, preferably a driver. Oscar Mike."

"Most the soldiers are in their tents, but you can probably find one in the dirt garage."

I walked into the area, but avoided tent city, preferring not to bother soldiers. It's odd enough I have a reason to enter here. I don't need to get caught sneaking past soldiers in their sleep. I eventually made it to the garage, and sure enough, there was a single crew there. I stepped into their conversation. "Excuse me, I need to talk to a driver."

One of the soldiers furrowed his brow. "Hell do you want?"

I crossed my arms. "I need to talk to an APC driver, it's important. A quick ten seconds will be fine."

The soldier stepped closer, in a very uncoordinated fashion. "I think you're in the wrong place, Marine." He had a slur in his speech.

"I think you're intoxicated and violating some regulations. Probably keeping the booze inside your vehicle's. And I know I'm right where I want to be, Soldier."

"Wanna take this outside?" The soldier said, sloppily putting his hands up.

"We are outside. The garage is literally a tall tent with camouflage netting. And no, you'll get what you deserve. I just need to speak to someone sober."

The soldier stood there, and I couldn't tell if he was still processing what I just said, was having a slow reaction time, or had passed out standing up. "Over here!" I heard a call, looking to my left, I spotted another soldier. I walked over, leaving the intoxicated to their own devices. "Don't bother with the slugs. What do you need?"

I popped my fingers. "Do you know how long the drive is from the western gate to the airfield?"

The soldier raised an eyebrow, taking a moment before answering. "24-25 minutes. Wouldn't take nearly as long if you guys didn't put so much crap in the way."

"Yeah, I know. That was the entire point."

"Either way, it's annoying. All you need?"

"Average speed of a M113?"

"67 Kilometers per hour."

"Thanks."

"Welcome."

I took notes in my book, and walked out of tent city. I made my way to my barracks, and set everything out on my bed. I took a look at the map. 25 minutes to get out and in the base, so that's already nearly an hour drive time. And then, I gotta get to several locations in town. From the eastern entrance of town, to, Carousel Boutique? That's another 11 kilometers, so, 10 minutes, from there to that pastry shop, is another 20 kilometers, add on 18 minutes. This calculator is really coming in handy, thank you princess. From there, the next closest is the library, an extra 17 kilometers, so add another 15 minutes. Wait, where the hell does Rainbow Dash live? I pulled out my phone.

"Applejack?"

"Yes, Misriah?" The country mare seemed tired

"Sorry to wake you, but where does Rainbow live, it's important."

"Wha? She lives in a cloud, it floats wherever she wants it."

"That complicates things. Think you could get her attention tomorrow, I gotta see all of you."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, it's just important."

"Okay, I will."

"Thanks, Applejack!"

"Welcome. Hey, you should... Call more often, preferably when I'm not exhausted."

"Noted, later."

I hung up the phone. So I'll pick up Rainbow and Applejack at the same time. Next house, fluttershy, which is pretty far out, a good 43 kilometers, 39 minutes. And last, but not least, Sweet Apple Acres. Why do farms have to isolate themselves away from cities? I mean, yeah, land, but why so far? Add on another 80 clicks. 71 minutes? Holy shit! Okay, okay. Time from there back to the western gate? 128 kilometers… great… 1 hour and 48 minutes. Plus the 25 minutes to get in position.

Total from airfield and back: 7 hours. SEVEN HOURS? And the princess is arriving at six in the afternoon? We'll have to leave maybe ten minutes before 11. With that, rally the guards and brief at 7 am. If we get back early, we'll hide the APC behind a hangar,

Next day, up and ready at 5 AM. BY 5:15, I had already found the Royal Guard Captain. "Captain!", I called, standing saluting. The captain, still in complete combat gear, faced me with his expressionless mask and blue goggles.

"Marine, Misriah, right. Ready to roll?" The Captain put his hands behind his back. I took this moment to note that Royal Guards didn't wear nametags, but instead had a serial code on their flak vests. The Captain's read: C1/3A24063C. Is that their way of telling eachother apart? Damn.

"Yes, sir. Drive plan is plotted out and ready, sir!"

"Right." The captain picked up his radio, and slung it around his back. "Roll up M113 number 4, and get me Zero-Four-Niner, Zero-Two-Seven, and One-Eighty-One."

The radio crackled in response, "Right away captain."

"Brief them, load them up, and depart when ready." The captain turned to take care of other duties.

"Aye, aye, Captain."

One of the white M113 rolled up and stopped perpendicular to me, a couple feet to my right. The driver disembarked, along with the vehicle commander, and while they weren't wearing flak jackets, they still looked similar to the rest of the Guard. They still wore a mask, and a tan beret in place of a helmet. Three guards also rallied with us. I would have read off their codes, but that's way too many numbers and letters to remember.

The guards seemed to be waiting on me, so I unfolded the map onto the side of the APC, using some weak adherent to keep it in place. I had marked our plan route in pencil.

"Simple pickup and drop off." I said, very nervous. It was my first time giving a briefing. Crusade had his team help make the plan. The Major always had our plan thought out before hand, but I have never given anypony a briefing. Much less the most prestiged of troops. "We will continue along the designated path, secure six very important ponies, and get back to the northern side of the airfield, hangar eight, and drop them off precisely at 1805. Understood?"

"Affirmative." They all responded in unison and similar voices. It was almost scary.

"We load up and leave at 0650. Ready up." I watched as the guards walked off to do whatever knows what. I took note of the inventory on their belts. It was typical of most of our troops. Fog grenades, frags, smokes, but, from there it was all exotic. AN M14 Thermite grenades, M84 flashbangs, and that pesky garrote wire, that seemed to double as a survival saw. I guess that explains why they aren't carrying knives.

I took the moment to call Applejack.

"Hello?" I started the call.

"Misriah! Isn't this a little early for you?"

"Not really. Besides, I knew you'd be awake. Make sure Rainbow Dash is with you by three today."

"I will. You can count on me!"

"I always will. See you soon."

"I'm counting on it!"

I quickly went to the armory to rearm and restock my gear. However, I will not be carrying another MATADOR. No! "I need a LAW" I told the Requisitions Sergeant, who quickly got me one.

"Can't wait to smack some Rats. Good hunting, Marine." The Sergeant told me.

I gave an enthusiastic "Oorah!" as I left the armory. I passed time by cleaning my rifle non-stop. I began to wonder if this is a little overboard. I mean, am I expected to get shot at on the way there? If not, why am I so damn armed and armored? And I bet my friends aren't expecting me to pick them up, at least not in full combat gear. On the brightside, at least my gear isn't mud smeared and sweaty anymore.

I arrived at out staging area at 6:30. We leave in twenty minutes. The M113 crew was waiting inside the APC, so I got their attention to run through the path a little more clearly for the next ten minutes, deciding how fast we should drive at certain areas to be as precise as possible, yet have flexible time to load up our cargo. The guards, despite their status in relation to mine, didn't seem to mind taking orders from a Marine who wasn't even a non-commissioned officer. Or, if they did, they were very professional about it and didn't say anything. In fact, they seemed to be very helpful, pointing out things that we may have missed. The other three guards arrived, and I had explained that we were leaving five minutes early. One of the guards handed me a headset that wrapped around my head and neck under my helmet. I just hold down a button located where one would check their pulse on the neck, and I'd be able to communicate with my element.

We loaded into the APC and got ready to move.

"Ready to roll out?" The APC commander said over the headset, prompting the other three guards to respond with "Good".

I closed the APC's door, then spoke into the communication device. "Let's roll out."

The first twenty five minutes of drive was moving through our own base, rather uneventful. I noticed that the three guards in front of me also had serial codes. "Why do you have those numbers?" I asked. One of the guards, code C1/3A24027G, looked at me for a second.

"Can you tell us apart?"

"No."

"That's what the numbers are for."

It was a very direct and simple answer. What scared me is that I really couldn't tell the difference between them. They looked the same, sounded the same, even acted the same. "Wouldn't that make it difficult to call individuals?"

A different guard answered this time, C1/3A24181G. "Most basic unit is the team, so most often you call for teams. If you must call individuals, we use the last three digits in the code."

"So, One-Eight-One, Zero-Twenty-Seven, and Zero-Four-Nine?" I asked, and all three of them nodded.

"Your pilot today is, Zero-Five-Two, and vehicle commander is One-Zero-Six." The driver said over the headset. Another question crossed my mind.

"What about your real names?"

They paused for a while before answering, and even then they seemed hesitant. "We have 'em, but only the higher ups and those we trust know them." I guess it's a touchy subject. For almost the entire team didn't talk unless it was to answer my question. When I asked why, they said "Operation should have operation related talk. Everything else can wait."

"ETA on first stop, five Mikes." The APC commander announced, and the Royal Guards stood up to disembark, checking weapons and loading up with ammunition.

"Disembark!" The Commander called, and the hatch opened and the three guards exited and cleared the immediate area as if in a combat zone.

"360 clear!" A guard called as I finally stepped out.

"One-Eighty-One with me, the rest keep overwatch." I ordered, realizing that even the vehicle commander had opened his hatch to man the .50 Cal.

I opened the door to the boutique. I know that the Royal Guard have to be super professional in all they do, but we aren't under attack, and I bet the enemy is just as clueless to my friends status as I was. "Misriah! What's going on here?" Rarity shrieked as she noticed me and the royal guard in combat gear.

"You're not under attack, and nothing bad's happening. You just gotta come with us." I tried to explain, however she didn't take it too great.

"Then why are you and those ponies armed with a war vehicle!"

"Because Celestia wants you in that vehicle. Trust me, it's direct orders from her."

Rarity didn't fight anymore, and walked out the store with us, remembering to turn the sign to "closed" and locking the door. "No one is shooting at us this time." I said, however I think that it had little to no effect. We loaded up back into the APC. "Roll out to the second destination."

"As you wish."

I looked at Rarity, who was sitting next to me. "Would you like anything?"

"What?"

"From Sugar Cube Corner. That's where we're going, so want me to get you a cake or something while we're there?"

"Oh, no thank you, darling."

We pulled up onto Sugar Cube Corner, and I had managed to get the guards to not act like we're in a free-fire-zone this time, for the sake of anypony walking by. Walking into the shop, I called out, "Pinkie!"

In response, I got a high pitched voice call back; "Misriah!" Although no pony had showed up.

"Pinkie, I need you to come with me!" I shouted, trying to get the mare to show herself, but with no luck. "Pinkie?" No response. I became concerned. I readied my rifle, and jumped over the cashier counter, and One-Eighty-One had followed. We cleared the first floor before moving upstairs. We moved through each and every room in the second story. "Find her?" I asked One-Eighty-One, who just shook his head. We started moving back down stairs.

"Smell that?" Asked 181, prompting me to take a deep breath through my nose.

"Cookies." I said, before double timing it to the kitchen, where the pink mare was baking. "Pinkie!"

She looked up at me. "Oh, hi, Misriah!"

"Are those cookies done?" I asked. She looked down at the tray.

"Yeah, they just need to cool."

"They'll have plenty of time for that. We need to go."

"Why?"

"Orders from the Princess."

Loading up again, we continued to the Library. I knocked on the door, as I was sure that was the fastest way to do this. "Twilight. Open up, please."

The door opened and the violet mare dressed in black jeans and a white long sleeve shirt opened up. "Misriah. What's going on here?"

"Princess requests your presence. Come with us." I stated, trying to be polite. Twilight calmly walked with us to the vehicle, and we loaded up with minimal hassle, making her the easiest pickup by far. "Hey guys." I said over my headset for all the guards to hear. "At the next location, I think I should go in alone. Guards should stay in here."

"I believe that to be ill advised, Marine." One of the guards, I think 027, had responded.

"Trust me, it's for the best. One-Oh-Six should also refrain from popping up and manning the M2."

"As you wish, Marine." 106 replied, complying with the order.

"Disembark." Ordered 052, letting down the hatch. I walked out the vehicle calmly and marched towards the neat cabin. Knocking on a door, I heard a soft voice.

"Yes?"

I cleared my throat. "Fluttershy, um, it's Misriah. I need to see you."

"Coming!"

The yellow pegasus opened the door, and looked shocked to see me, probably all the gear I was wearing. "Hey, uh, Fluttershy. Princess Celestia needs you to come with me."

She looked behind me for a second, noticing the armored car. She hesitantly agreed, and reluctantly walked with me to the car. "Thanks, guys. Roll out, last stop."

Over an hour of riding later, and all the other ponies either didn't want to talk (Royal Guards), or were too nervous to talk (Everypony else). We eventually made it to Sweet Apple Acres, where the guards and I disembarked to pick up Rainbow Dash and Applejack. I knocked on the door, however it was little Applebloom who answered. "Oh, hey, Applebloom." I said as I crouched down to look at her. "Know where your sister's at?"

She examined me in a similar manner before responding. "Yeah, she's outback with Rainbow Dash." She offered to take me to them, and I gladly accepted.

"Stay here, 181."

"As you wish."

Applebloom walked me around the house into thr backyard, where Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been arm wrestling. I was interested for a second, so I stood where I was for a second. "Aren't ya gonna talk to 'em?" Applebloom asked, and I simply shook my head

"I wanna see how this goes."

I could see that it was more a game of endurance than anything else, but it looked intense. They both seemed to hope to call it quits soon, but weren't willing to give up. I watched for about a minute and a half before finally deciding it was enough and would have to be settled at a later date. "Hey, A.J, Rainbow." I introduced myself, causing Applejack to take away her focus for a moment, before Rainbow capitalized on the moment a d slammed her hand onto the table.

"Damn it!" Applejack cursed.

"Rematch me later." Rainbow taunted.

"Hey, gotta come with me. Her Majesty kinda demands it." I stated, getting their attention a second time.

They both looked at me for a second, though they didn't seem bothered by the request. I took a moment to note their attire. Both were wearing jeans, and rainbow dash was in a white tank top, Applejack wore a plaid long sleeve shirt, though she rolled the sleeves up, meaning both of their muscles were exposed. "Sun's out Guns out?" I asked, semi-sarcastically.

"Right!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Though, it really is hot out here."

"It's gonna be hotter inside." I replied as we loaded up into the APC. "Sorry for distracting you, A.J."

"Nah, it's fine. I'll get'er next time."

"Alright. We're cutting it close, let's go!" I ordered, and the APC started to move. The M113 was pretty much full, though we still had room for one extra pony.

"Lucky break, traffic's pretty minimal today. We estimate we'll arrive a good three minutes earlier than expected, give you time to stretch out." 106 reported.

"So, you all know the princess?" I asked my friends.

"Well, yes, kinda." Fluttershy replied.

"She was my teacher." Twilight added in.

Alright, that makes sense, and that gives me a basic "why are we doing this?" answer. We rolled up to the northern end of the airfield and parked to the side of a hangar, hiding the APC from anypony else on the airstrip. "Disembark, freshen up, be ready in three Mikes." One-Zero-Six ordered his guards, but my friends and I also took the opportunity to stretch our legs from the long ride. Until 049 reported to me.

"Phase two commences in one mike, I recommend we get back into the 113."

"Affirmative. Pack it in." I ordered all the ponies back into the APC, and then we drove from our little hiding spot out into the middle of the airstrip, and disembarked at 6:15 exactly. The six mares atood shoulder to shoulder infront of the APC, along with 181 and 027 guarding on their right, with 049 and I on their left, looking down the airstrip. The airstrip was lined on the sides with troops from every branch, all in huge formations with their company commanders. Two Royal Guard APCs were also on the sides of the airstrip, ready to roll. "I wonder what this is all for." I asked.

049 didn't dare shift his weight or even turn his head, but answered; "You'll see, Marine."

Less than a minute later, a large white and gold VC-25s plane flew over us and landed neatly on the airstrip and lowered its rear steps. Out he plane marched a squad of Royal Guard, and almost as if on command, two more royal guard squads disembarked from their APCs, lead by their captain, and formed a path from the stairs. I found myself being just as still as the guards next to me. With the path made, I couldn't believe what I saw. Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor walked down the steps! Celestia was dressed in white and gold commanders uniform, gloves and all, her hair flowing behind her. Luna dressed in a similar fashion, but with blue and black instead of white and gold. Cadence was dressed in the colors of her crystal guards, with Shining Armor in a red commander coat. As they walked down the strip, the guard followed, and all military ponies saluted as they moved past. I could hear the company commanders calling "Present, arms!" as they walked by and "Order, arms!" once they passed.

The princesses eventually made it infront of my group. The guards and I saluted in unison as my friends had bowed down. Celestia returned our salutes. "At ease."

The guards and I spaced our hooves out and put our hands behind our backs, ready for the next command. "Luna, please dismiss the troops."

"As you wish, sister." The blue princes then did an about face, and shouted with a volume enough to command entire armies: "On the command of fall out, fall out and dismiss thyselves to return to your natural duties. Fall out!" she was obeyed without question, every trooper leaving to get their jobs done. However, we still stood in formation.

"It's good to see you, my little ponies." Celestia said to my friends. "We have much to discuss." There was a slight unhappy tone in her voice. "I take it you are the Royal Marine I sent, Misriah, is it?"

"Yes, ma'am."I responded.

Celestia looked up at 052, who was standing in his hatch. "I take it the operation was a success."

"Yes, your Majesty. The Private had come prepared with a drive plan, and the mission was executed without problem."

"Good." Celestia turned to the guard with a purple helmet. "Captain Loyal Lance, have a squad escort us to our command center. Have the rest of your men on standby."

"As you wish."

We were joined by an extra six guards before Celestia had called for us to follow her. Even though I was not exactly part of the Royal Guard, I marched with them at the back of the line. However, Celestia seemed to notice this and called me to the front. We eventually made it to a unusually large war tent, and many of the guards there had large radios on their backs. Walking in, it had several maps on a table in the center, and radio on the side. It also had medical supplies and… a coffee machine? Well, I guess commanders nees their coffee.

Shining Armor cleared off the table for the princesses, who then offered my friends a seat. Shining also told me to take a seat.

"I have terrible news." Celestia started off, pulling out a stack of letters and handing them to each of the six mares. They opened the letters and took a moment to read them. I could tell by their faces they were not pleased.

"What does this mean?" Rarity said in a soft, defeated tone.

"It means that you have all been drafted into the Militia." Luna answered.

"We have done all we could, but the Equestrian High Command has made it's choice." Cadence spoke, looking down upon the table.

"They want to weaponize the Elements of Harmony against the enemy." Shining Armor confirmed.

I raised an eyebrow. "Permission To Speak?" I asked, which was granted. "Elements of Harmony, sir?"

"These six mares are the bearers of the Elements, private." Prince Armor responded, leaving me in shock. Holy crap! I knew the Elements of Harmony the entire time, and didn't even know it?

"He's right, Misriah." I heard Applejack say, and then listing out and pointing to each of the bearers. "Pinkie is Laughter. Rarity is Generosity, Fluttershy is Kindness, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Twilight is Magic, and I'm Honesty."

I took a moment to absorb the new found info, and sighed. "There has to be a way to dodge the draft!" I called out.

"Draft dodging is illegal." Luna was quick to point out to me.

"Draft voiding is not." Shining Armor reaponded.

"How do you void a draft?" I asked.

Celestia sighed before responding. "Only one pony per family can be drafted, so if a relative were to take their place, they'd be safe."

"Guys got any family that can do that for you?" I asked.

"My brother is right infront of us. He's already in the military, but not a resident of ponyville, so he doesn't void the draft." Twilight responded. Rarity's sister is too young, and Applejack's brother is too injured to apply. The rest didn't have any local family here.

"Well, why exactly do they want them in the militia?" I asked.

"They want to weaponize the Elements, and they can only be used in proximity to each other. So to make most use of them, they want the bearers to be in the same unit. This is most easily influenced at Militia level." Cadence explained.

"You can void a militia draft by joining an actual branch of the Defense Forces." I stated. "If my friends here join the actual branches of their choice, they'd be safe for the next three months at least while in boot. And even then, if they are split among the branches, they're less likely to be able to use the Elements, putting them in less danger otherwise."

"We can get them recommendations into any field they wish to operate in as well, lengthening the divide even further." Celestia offered.

"Good plan, Private." Luna congradulated me. "Will they follow through?"

The six mares seemed very stressed, so I tried to coax them into the idea. "Twilight can probably join a military police outfit. Fluttershy could end up being a hospital pony. Pinkie can… well… be a morale specialist? Rainbow could be an airforce pilot, Rarity could end up being graphic artist. And Applejack could be an engineer."

The ponies continued to eye their letters. Twilight first put her letter down. "I'll do it."

Applejack was secomd, then Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy took a little longer, but inally submitted to the plan.

"Misriah." Celestia called, standing up, prompting me to also get out my seat. "Private Misriah, of the Royal Marine Corps, I have read the after action reports from you and your team. I have also read letters about you from your friends Twilight and Applejack especially. And I have decided that you are to be rewarded for your deeds."

Shining Armor handed Celestia a ribbon and rank insignia. "For your efforts, I award you the Navy Combat Action ribbon, and promote you to Lance Corporal. You are hereby also the official royal military correspondant between us and the Elements of Harmony. Any letter from the Elements or us to you will not be interrupted, intercepted, or read by anyone except you."

I saluted as the ribbon and ranks were pinned onto my uniform, putting it down only when it was returned by the princess. A round of applause came from the room, until it was back to business.

"I will get a recruiting station set up in ponyville for you to visit within the week, ponies. We are sorry." Luna stated.

"Misriah, thank you for protecting my sister." Shining Armored said, shaking my hand. "But, we also have an operation planned, be ready. We move out next week."

"Aye, aye, sir."

 **A.N: I am already working on chapter 6 by the time you read this, just so you know. I actually have little to say down here... Enjoying so far? Anything I could do better? Something cool you might wanna see? Let me know! I read and reply to all messages, so please, reader feedback is all I wish for.**


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